An Unexpected Love (Kili X OC)
by WhoSherloki'd
Summary: A normal girl with a powerful bracelet that allows her to change into almost all the habitants of Middle-earth,she never expected that she would live an adventure so great.She was living with Bilbo, who was an amazing friend,she was going to spend the next 2 months in Bag End with him, but everything changed when a young dwarf named Kili knocked the door and stole her heart
1. An Unexpected Life

**-The journey is about to begin! I hope that you'll like it and don't mind some wrong grammar or misspelled words,English is my second language and I decided to write to practice it :)If you spot mistakes please send me a message instead of a review :P And comment if you want to, I'd love to see what you guys are thinking about the story so far! PS: I write and upload about 3 chapters a week -And there are some Sherlock references along the story :)**

The front door closed violently in the hall.

"Who was it Bilbo?" Primula asked curiously noticing his frightened face.

"Oh, it was an old friend...a very old friend indeed...Well; he's gone now...Are you going to the market?"

"Yes! Do you want me to bring something specific for you?"

"Well, some fish would be good...and we are almost out of cheese..." said Bilbo while checking the pantry.

"Fine , I'll be back for dinner!" She said closing the door, stopping for a moment as she saw a kind of mark on it, she was going to tell Bilbo about it, but he went to another room, and she should go if she wanted to arrive before the market closes.

Primula was wearing a beautiful but simple lavender dress with a white corset top that looked lovely with her golden curly hair .She was also carrying a basket, to stock the groceries , she looked a very lovely and decent hobbit, considering the fact that she was not a hobbit. As Primula followed the grass road that led to the market, she started to think about her old life, it has been only about 3 months since she left her father Addraran , one of the lords of Gondor and her mother Cadiliniel ,in her homeland to explore the middle-earth, she have never left her town before, and she thought that if she was going to help to command Gondor someday she should learn about the other races, such as hobbits, to make a future alliance and know more about the world that surrounds Gondor.

Her family contacted a wizard from the Greenwood to help her look like the other races when desired, he wasn't the greatest wizard of all, but he made her look shorter and with hobbit feet, although her naturally straight hair didn't get curly, but at least he gave her a wig. It was a very different look compared to her natural form, besides the appearance, that were also different values, hobbits tended to live a quiet and accommodated life, with just some cases of exceeded presence of courage and adventure desire ,that weren't considered "decent".

She met Bilbo on the day she arrived, he seemed to be the most sympathetic and kind hobbit among the others, and invited her to stay in his house, the "Bag End", he said that there were some rooms that he didn't even use, and that would be a good place for her to stay the 5 months she needed, as she explained to him, she was not able to stay in an inn for such amount of time. They became friends in the first days, he was like an older brother to her, and eventually found out that she was not a hobbit. Primula explained to him her quest, and he was admired by her intention to learn more about middle-earth.

Sometimes she felt homesick, but she kept in touch with her parents by letters that disguised messengers would bring and take to them. The next kind that she needed to disguise as was elven, the problem was that her ears didn't get pointy, but it was better to not think about that now.

She didn't expect that she would love the hobbits so much, they lived a simple and lovely life, and you could learn everything that there is to know about them in days but still get impressed by the courage of few. Primula stopped daydreaming realizing that the market was really near now, but it was getting darker, so she just bought what she needed: some fish, cheese, bread and biscuits. Her basket was full now, she returned to Bag End quickly, just in time to help Bilbo prepare the dinner. He made a wonderful tomato sauce which went perfectly with her secret recipe of homemade pasta, one of his new favorites meals.

After dinner, they said goodnight to each other.

Primula went to her room and changed to a comfortable pair of pajamas after taking a shower, but she could still hear a noise in the kitchen, probably Bilbo was preparing his supper, you wouldn't believe in the quantity of food that a hobbit could eat.

She laid down on her bed, but before she could fall asleep, she heard the sound of heavy feet being dragged in the hall, it was odd, Bilbo didn't say anything about a guest. Primula tried to sleep again, but was interrupted by another similar sound; she couldn't sleep until finding out what it was about .She picked her robe, that was actually Bilbo's, and her slippers, dragging her tired feet to the hall. Bilbo didn't realize that she was standing behind him as he opened the door to let two dwarves come inside.


	2. Kili, At Your Service

"Fili" said the young dwarf that had a reddish blond hair, with his mustaches tangled in two braids.

"And Kili" the other one said ,he looked a little bit younger than Fili, he had a messy straight dark brown hair and just a bit of facial hair, that was probably why Primula found him attractive for a dwarf.

"At your service!" the two dwarves started to say, but only Fili finished the introduction, Kili was paralyzed looking at her eyes, she was not certain whether it was a good thing or not.

"Including at yours, beautiful lady."

She blushed when he said that, but quickly took control of the situation, well, that was before Bilbo realize to whom Kili was talking to.

"You shouldn't be sleeping by now Primula!?"

"Primula?" Kili repeated whispering, glad to learn her name, although it was just a fake name to protect her, it was a mere modification of her name, to make it sound more "hobbitish".

"That is miss Primula Deepdelver for you young lad!" said Bilbo annoyed by the excessive interest of that dwarf in her , a feeling that her dad often experienced.

"It's an honor anyway" he said kissing her hand, what made her blush madly, but also realize that she was in her robe, with her straight hair messy and wearing slippers.

"The honor is all mine" Primula shyly replied.

"Even wearing these silly clothes you look beautiful!" Kili said, blushing realizing that he said that out loud. Bilbo wasn't amused by that, when he was about to say something very threatening to Kili, someone knocked on the door.

"I'm going to change to something more decent, why didn't you tell me that you were having a party Bilbo!?" She said as she ran to her bedroom to put a decent clothes on.

Meanwhile Bilbo opened the door and lots of dwarves fell to the ground, only a tall man wearing a kind of gray robe and a pointy hat didn't fall. He explained to Bilbo that those dwarves came because of the mark on the door that Primula saw earlier.

She quickly changed to a beautiful dark blue dress that Bilbo gave to her last week, it was gorgeous and perfect for the evening, but she didn't put her wig on , it would take too much time and the dwarves wouldn't notice the difference, she quickly returned to the hall, just to see a lot more of dwarves, probably more than 10: some were placing all the kinds of food at the table of the dining room , others were plundering the pantry. She spotted the only two dwarves she knew, Fili and Kili, lifting a barrel of beer on their shoulders, Kili saw her and violently dropped the barrel.

"I know that you are weak brother, but you used to be able to lift a barrel ..." said Fili, laughing when he saw that she was the motive why Kili dropped it. Kili didn't had to say anything, he just blushed and quickly lifted the barrel again. Primula blushed as well , but went to the dining room before they could see her reaction, what made she bump in that tall man that was making a kind of presence check:

" Fili, Kili, Oin, Gloin, Dwalin, Balin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Dori,... Yes, you're quite right, Bifur. We appear to be one Dwarf short." he answered the dwarf who was saying something you couldn't understand very well in old dwarvish.

She finally found Bilbo, trying to control the situation, but clearly failing at it. She saw all the dwarves sitting to begin their feast,so she joined them,when someone shouted:

"Look! Another hobbit! She's lovely! Hello sweetheart, what is your name?" asked the dwarf that was wearing a funny hat,

"My name is Primula Deepdelver , Bilbo's friend, and you are?"

"Bofur, and that is my cousin Bifur" he pointed to that dwarf who was speaking dwarvish earlier, "and that's my brother Bombur. Hey! Bombur! Catch it!" He said throwing an egg to the fat redheaded dwarf, who opened his mouth and cracked the egg with his teeth. The dwarfs laughed and congratulated him, they were very loudly companions.

Fili and Kili sat on the opposite side of the long table , she heard them whispering something to the other dwarves and quickly Bifur, who was sitting on her left side, and another dwarf stood up and changed places with Fili and Kili, who sat obviously on her left.

"Your, your dress is very beautiful" Kili said shyly and mumbling

"Thank you!" Primula replied kindly. The dwarves started to whisper and laugh,she was sure that they were talking about her. Bilbo appeared, just when Primula, Kili ,Fili and Bofur, who was sitting on her right , were beating the knives on the table producing a rhythm that the others begun to participate.

"No! Can you not do that? You'll blunt them!" Bilbo complained.

"Oh, do you hear that lads?" asked Bofur , with a playful and mischievous look in his eyes, "he said we'll blunt the knives!"

Then Kili started to sing: "Blunt the knives and bend the forks!"Fili automatically joined him:  
"Smash the bottles and burn the corks!" Then all started to sing, as if they had rehearsed that before:  
"Chip the glasses and crack the plates!  
That's what Bilbo Baggins hates !"

Bofur started to play his flute, Primula have never been in such a funny and entertaining dinner , plates and glasses were flying in the room,Fili and Kili were throwing them to Bifur that was cleaning the dishes in the kitchen,Primula thought that they would break everything,Bilbo was almost having a heart attack,"Excuse me. That's my mother's china! It's over a hundred years old!" he protested desperatly.

"That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!"They finished the song laughing, even Bilbo let a giggle come out. As the song finished, everything was cleaned and organized, after seeing all those plates and glasses being thrown in the air she couldn't believe that everything was intact. The tall man approached the table, when suddenly someone knocked on the door... Again.


	3. Thorin Arrives

"He is here!" One of the dwarves said, Bilbo opened the door hoping it was the last time he would need to do that in this night.

" I thought you said this place would be easy to find. I lost my way twice" Complained the dwarf, who seemed taller and more important than the others.

"Uncle!" Fili and Kili shouted realizing who was standing at the door. He gave a big hug in both at the same time, with his arms wide open.

"I'm sorry" interrupted Bilbo, "but who are you?"

"I'm Thorin Oakenshield, son of Thrain! Son of Thror! King under the mountain!" Primula couldn't believe that all those legends about the dwarves were real, he couldn't be the Thorin. The other dwarves looked at him anxiously and happy.

"What did the Dwarves of the Iron Hills say? Are they with us?"asked one.

" They will not come. They said this quest is ours and ours alone." answered Thorin while trying to find a place to sit,when that tall man interrupted the silence:

"I have found the 14th member of your company , Bilbo Baggins! Our official burglar!"

"So this is the hobbit?"asked Thorin with a mean tone.

"What?!"Bilbo asked surprised. "No! Didn't you hear me before? We don't want any adventures here, thank you very much!"

"Did you say adventure ?" Primula asked hoping that she heard it right.

"A quest" Thorin answered correcting her,as if "adventure" was a romantic word to describe what they would face." It has come , the time to take back Erebor!"

"Erebor! Where Smaug, the terrible lies?!" she asked in shock.

"The Smaug?"a frightened Bilbo asked

"Hoy!It is not that bad" said Bofur calmly trying to help:** "**Think furnace with wings!, but much bigger".Bilbo started to feel dizzy

"I , I can't" -he mumbled before fainting.

"I knew coming here was a waste of time Gandalf!"said Thorin to the tall man with the gray robe.

"Gandalf?!" Primula couldn't believe it was him "I met a friend of yours, Radagast!"

"You met Radagast? What business would a hobbit have with a wizard? Why would he...- Oh!" He said just realizing the fact that she was not a hobbit. "Your hair! It isn't curly, it's straight ! In hundreds of years I have never met a hobbit without curly hair… Perhaps you're not a hobbit at all..."

"Yes, I'm not" she replied "Radagast gave this bracelet to me" she said showing the small bracelet in her left wrist to him, it was only a chain of little black beads, or it seemed to be just that "it allows me to change to some other creatures. It has some, well, imperfections, like my hair , but Radagast gave me his best shot"

"You must be very important to receive such gift from Radagast..."said Gandalf trying to discover her true identity.

"Yes, I am. In fact, I'm on a quest as well"

"Could you share the goal of this quest with us ?" asked Gandalf intrigued

"I can only say that It's a mere learning quest, I want to know more about middle-earth and it's habitants" she answered.

"Shouldn't we help Mr. Baggins?" asked a sweet and young dwarf.

"Yes! I almost forgot about him! Thank you Ori" said Gandalf.

Primula and Gandalf accommodated Bilbo,that was still laying on the same place where he fainted, in his armchair,

" We will join your quest" she said after putting a blanket on him.

"I cannot guarantee their safety." said Thorin to Gandalf, apprehensively,as if she was not in the room.

"Understood" Gandalf whispered to him.

"Nor will I be responsible for their fate."

"Agreed!" she answered to remind them of her existence. "So this is your purpose, to enter the mountain?"

" We will seize this chance to take back Erebor!" said Thorin enthusiastically

"You, Gandalf and just other 12 dwarves? Primula asked sarcastically.

" I would take each and every one of these dwarves over the mightiest army." replied Thorin

"You would?" asked one of the oldest dwarves, moved by Thorin's words.

" Loyalty, honor, a willing heart, I can ask no more than that." said Thorin, staring each one of the dwarves in their eyes. Primula was moved by that gesture.

"We're going with you" she said once more.

" Mr Gandalf said that Mr Baggins is our burglar , why would we need you?" asked Ori

"I can basically shape shift! I can morph in different creatures, like elves and hobbits,I could be your spy! Maybe with Gandalf's help I could even be able to transform myself in a dragon!" After that being said all the dwarves quickly started to talk and argue with each other if she was going with them or not.

"Can you transform her in a dragon?" asked Fili, making all the dwarves stare at Gandalf, who started to choke.

"Well" he started "I have never tried that before, it would depend in which creature she actually is , but she seems to respond well to shape shifting , despite Radagast's mistakes."

"So she can be useful for us?" asked Thorin

"Yes" Gandalf apprehensively answered.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" -Asked Kili worried.

"Yes" Primula answered him."It is the perfect opportunity for me to learn more about middle-earth. I know that there will be danger in our way, and the dragon, but we have a wizard with us! Imagine: Gandalf must have killed hundreds of dragons back on his time! Radagast told me that he is a very powerful wizard!"

Gandalf begun to choke in the smoke of his pipe once again." Well, I wouldn't say hundreds, maybe a few…"

"How many, then?" Asked the dwarves curiously " Go on, give us a number!" They began to get too anxious, laughing too loud, probably because of the beer, and demanded the answer, making Gandalf feel even more embarrassed, and eventually waking up Bilbo.


	4. We Will Go-NO!

"I'm not going!" Bilbo screamed ,scared by the pitched sound of his own voice.

"Silence!" Demanded Thorin realizing that the burglar woke up. All the dwarves obeyed him and looked at Bilbo, inviting him to join them.

"Bilbo! I'm glad to see you're better, you should control your emotions better, or it might complicate our journey. Here! Come sit with us."Said Gandalf showing an empty chair by his side. And so he did.

"I have something that I need to give to you Thorin."continued Gandalf putting a detailed map on the table.

"The Desolation of Smaug…" read Bilbo, with fear in his voice, he didn't want to remember the fact that they would need to face a dragon.

" This was given to me by your father, Thrain,for safekeeping. It is yours now"Gandalf showed a beautifully detailed key to Thorin. "He said that when the time arrived, It would be my responsibility to give it to you."

"The key to Erebor!" exclaimed Thorin picking the key with his hands and admiring it. "The door it's still there!"the dwarfs begun to celebrate.

"Erebor,Smaug, the Lonely Mountain: Last of the great Dwarf kingdoms of Middle earth!" Primula said remembering the stories that she thought were nothing more than that, stories...

"Actually,these runes speak of a hidden passage, the only problem is that it is invisible when closed, the dwarves made it, the answer to find it lies somewhere hidden in this map, and I do not have the skill to find it, but there are others in Middle earth who can" explained Gandalf.

A silence fell in the room.

"Did you sign the contract?"asked the probably oldest dwarf to Bilbo.

"Me?"Bilbo replied "No,no,no! of course I didn't! I can't just running off into the blue. I'm a Baggins of bag end!" Bilbo answered,as if the dwarves knew what to expect of a "Baggins".

"_**You are also a Took**__!" _Gandalf protested making the room get darker,the dwarves shrank in fear,and so did Primula. "The world isn't in your books and maps! It's out there! I choose you among all the other hobbits I know to join this quest, because I believe in you! I know that the hobbit that used to go into the woods searching for elves it's still inside of you somewhere! What happened to him?!"

Bilbo giggled for a moment remembering the good old times before asking: "Can you promise that I will come back if I join you?"

For what Gandalf answered: "No. And if you do, you will not be the same."

After reflecting for a moment, Bilbo decided that he couldn't do that, he couldn't just leave Primula alone.

"I would love to",answered Bilbo,making all the dwarves shout with happiness "But I can't leave Primula here alone!" he said, making the dwarfs sad once again.

"Well, actually I already decided that I'll join their quest, and make it mine"Primula said shyly but confidently.

"What! No you can't!" berated Bilbo. "Can you imagine how your parents would react if they discovered that!? They would kill me for letting you risk your life in this way!"

"I have made my choice!"she said not being shy anymore, making all the dwarves pay attention to her. "My father was a warrior once, he used to tell me stories of his adventures, I will not deny the chance to have my own, and I think you should consider that too Bilbo, think about all the wonders we could see! All the forests! All the different lands and its habitants! I can't just wait here, when an opportunity like that is literally knocking our door!"

"Are you sure?"-Bilbo asked her now giving in to the thought of the possible adventure.

"As I was when I choose you to help me." She said smiling at him.

"You better explain that to your parents…" He said giggling

"I will" she answered happily hugging Bilbo.

"Listen you all!" she demanded attention. "We will join you!"

The dwarfs started to celebrate, but soon stopped as Thorin commanded saying something in old dwarvish.

"I only need one more member for the company not two.I'm still not convinced that she'll be helpful for us, what if she is an elf trying to trick us!?"

"I'm not an elf!" she answered him "And it's not of your business my true identity, I want to join your quest, I want to help you, but you shall not know my real name, for my safety, but before judging me think!, as I said before, I can change into a variety of creatures, you wouldn't like to be in my way…"

The dwarves stared at each other and quickly started to argue if she should or shouldn't go with them,again. After some minutes they reached a decision.


	5. The 15th member of the company

"Congratulations Primula or whatever your name is, you are now the 15th member of my company, Balin will give to you the contract , once you signed it, there is no way back"explained a not very amused Thorin.

The dwarf that now she know as Balin handed to her the contract."I put a note in the back, with the space for you to sign, you see, we were not expecting to have another new member in the company." Kindly explained Balin.

Primula handed the contract to Bilbo first, who hesitated for a moment before signing it and handing it back to her. She read just the important parts, and signed in the back as Balin instructed.

All The dwarves congratulated Bilbo and Primula, Bofur gave her a big hug, Thorin just smiled at her,he was probably thinking that she had just made the biggest mistake of her life.

Fili also hugged Primula,meanwhile Kili was hugging Bilbo, giving little slaps in his back saying :

"It is good to have you in our company !"

He then hugged her:

"I can't believe that you're going with us! You're very brave!" Kili enthusiastically said, realizing that he said that maybe too much enthusiastically, because all the dwarves were staring at him and Primula now.

" I mean,for a hobbit, I mean, a girl something! Sorry I …"

"It's fine, thank you" she interrupted him laughing before he could get more embarrassed. He quickly followed Fili to the living room.

Gandalf said that he wanted talk with her, privately, she showed him the way to the kitchen and there they talked.

"Primula, I need you to tell me your real race, I can help you with the shape shifting problems, but first I need to know what you are"

"I'm human" she said after hesitating for a moment. Gandalf seemed a bit shocked:

"Well, at least you are not an elf! Can you give to me your bracelet?"

"If I do so I'll return to my normal form" she explained to him.

"Let's go somewhere more private then"

"My room" she said, leading Gandalf to it."No one will disturb us here, I'll give to you the bracelet "she said taking it off and throwing to him, and then she quickly ran to the bathroom,she didn't want him to see her getting naked, because her clothes wouldn't grow with her.

He began to recite a spell, she waited for some minutes, when she started to hear a beautiful song.

"The dwarves are singing? "Primula asked to herself,surprised.

"Yes, sometimes they do that" Gandalf said, he had just finished the spell. She opened the bathroom door the sufficiently to let her hand out, he putted the bracelet on her wrist and she automatically begun to shrink, into a dwarf form!

"Wait, you transformed me in a dwarf!" she protested.

" I thought that it would be the best way to travel with a dwarf company!"Gandalf said laughing

"yes, I mean, thank you!"

" I fixed the problem, now you can change and your clothes will automatically change with you according to the specie you choose,"

He said pointing at her bracelet, that now in each black bead had a simple drawing to represent a different kind, the dwarf bead had a beard carved on it. As she saw that she quickly started to search for a mirror.


	6. I have a beard!

"I have a beard!?" Primula desperately asked Gandalf

"I gave you just a simple beard, calm down, I knew that it would be a shocking change for you to have an extremely long beard, so I gave you just a bit of side beard and braids in your hair."

She found a hand mirror and looked at her own reflection.

"Well, it is an interesting look at least…"she said while passing her fingers through her new golden hair tangled in beautiful braids.

"You will need a new name now, what is your real name?" Gandalf asked trying to fool her.

"I can't tell you Gandalf, sorry…But maybe you can change Primula to dwarvish…"

"Fine, Primula would be …Merwra!"Said Gandalf after a few seconds thinking of the translation.

"Merwra… I like the sound of it…" she said.

"Oh, I also added some other species, such as warg and orc."

"Did you add a dragon?" She asked anxiously

"I don't have enough knowledge for that, but maybe lord Elrond has some old spells books or scrolls…"

"Lord Elrond? From Rivendell? I don't think that Thorin would like to pay him a visit, he seems to be not very fond of elves.." she said giggling.

"Everything at its time…now go rest! I'll tell to the others that you gave them goodbye, we'll see each other tomorrow morning"Gandalf said leaving her bedroom.

"Wait, I want to say goodbye to them!" she protested.

Gandalf was closing her door, when Bilbo suddenly appeared at his side.

"She needs to rest, I put some new forms in her bracelet and improved it, she'll feel very tired soon, the quantity of strength demanded to carry that much power takes time to get used to, she needs to regain energy" Explained Gandalf to the worried Bilbo.

"Fine, good night Primula!"said Bilbo waving and closing her bedroom door again.

She felt now the tiredness that Gandalf was talking about, her eyelids couldn't stay open, she laid in her bed and slept at the sound of the dwarves' song:

"Far over,

the misty mountains cold

To dungeons deep,

and caverns old..."


	7. We are Going on an Adventure!

"Primula...!" she heard Bilbo whispering "Primula!" he shouted this time.

"What!?" She shouted back with a sleepy voice,opening her eyes. She was still in her dwarf form and with the dwarvish clothes on. Of course it wasn't a beautiful dress with flowers on it, Gandalf knew that in the journey they were about to begin a dress would only make her slower and cause her to be left behind.

Her clothes were very similar to the clothes of a young male dwarf, a pair of comfortable and big brown boots with fur, loose dark brown pants, a simple blue shirt with a light armor - that looked similar to Thorin's but less detailed- covering it, a long dark blue coat with a hood of the same color, a silver belt crossing her waist ,a light brown fur coat that stretched to her waist and a pair of fingerless black gloves. She was not dressed for a walk in the park, she was dressed to a dangerous and long journey, perhaps even to a battle, except by the fact that she didn't had a weapon besides her bracelet, that was , hidden on the layers of clothes.

"We are late!"said Bilbo impatiently while analyzing her clothes.

"Good you're ready!" he pointed at her.

"You look very…different! In a good way" He tried to fix that statement.

"What do you mean I'm ready? I didn't pack anything yet!"she said getting up.

"The only think you need is: food, the clothes that you're wearing and a handkerchief!" said Bilbo counting on his fingers.

"I've already packet a bag with blankets and emergency food"He said while pushing you out of your bedroom and closing the door behind you.

"Where are they?" she asked looking at the mess the dwarves made on the kitchen.

"We'll meet them at the Green Dragon Inn, and we are late! We need to be there in 10 minutes!" He explained throwing a slice of bread to her and handing a glass of milk.

"Eat this; I don't think that we'll stop to eat breakfast Primula."

"It's Merwra now" she explained while chewing the bread.

"What?"

"Merwra" she repeated after drinking the glass of milk.

"Fine, Merwra, dwarvish name I suppose?" he asked giggling.

Merwra just nodded with her head while quickly eating the last slice of bread. Bilbo went to the living room to grab his backpack, meanwhile she stole lots of biscuits of Bilbo's secret biscuit jar and hid them in her coat pockets.

Bilbo returned with his backpack , grabbed her hand and closed the green front door behind them. He then saw the mark that Gandalf made on it.

"That's the mark they were talking about! This door was painted a week ago!" He complained.

"Well, ready to run?" He said dropping that subject,worried about being late.

"Let's go!"she said trying to run faster than him, what was almost impossible because of the amount of clothes that she was wearing.

Merwra ran as fast as she could, when suddenly an old hobbit that was crossing the grass road with some pumpkins in a small cart blocked their way:

"Oh dear! Mister Bilbo and Primula, where are you off to?"

"**We're going on an adventure!**" both answered laughing, bypassing him and running even faster than before.


	8. The Red Handkerchief

After some minutes running they could see the sign "Green Dragon Inn" and some of the dwarves mounted on ponies. The Inn was surrounded by a beautiful and simple garden, the front door led to an irregular stone road, that led to the unknown: the way out of the Shire.

"There they are!" said Gandalf relieved, he was the only one mounted on a horse.

"You are late" complained Thorin.

"But for a good reason I see, Primula seems more…suitable now. But I can't say the same about our burglar".He said judging her and Bilbo.

"It's Merwra now" she said to him after catching her breath again.

"At your service!" she added doing the same reverence that the dwarves did last night.

Bofur and some other dwarves understood her reference and laughed ,even Thorin let a giggle come out, what drew the attention to Merwra. Kili, who was mounted on a pony behind her, turned it to face her.

"Good morning! You look… you look very…" He said trying to find the right words:

"Very dwarvish today!"

Fili appeared at his brother's side and started to laugh.

"I think that what he meant is that you look very beautiful, Merwra" Said Fili trying to help his brother.

"Well, thank you! I liked your pony!" she said to Kili blushing.

"So, where are our ponies?" Said Bilbo annoyed, trying to change the subject.

"Dwalin will bring them to you" Answered Thorin getting in the front of Gandalf and organizing a line, establishing his position as the leader of the group.

The dwarf covered with tattoos on his arms, hands and even on his head as she noticed, showed to her a light brown pony with a reddish hair.

"Her name is Apple Pie" Dwalin said, Merwra laughed of her funny, but appropriated ,name.

"Hello apple pie!" Merwra said to her while petting her head.

"Can you help me to mount it?" she asked to Dwalin,sweetly and ashamed.

This time Dwalin was the one who laughed.

She tried to mount Apple Pie twice before finally succeed. Bilbo didn't seem to have better luck with his pony, Myrtle,so Dwalin got impatient and helped him.

"We can go now." Said Dwalin after quickly mounting his pony, humiliating Merwra, Bilbo and their lack of "mounting skill".

"You can lead the way Gandalf, I'll be just behind you. As for the rest of you, remain in a line and keep the pace!" Instructed Thorin.

They did as he said and Merwra started to ride her pony behind Bilbo and in front of Kili. She looked back for a moment to see the Shire one last time, she realized that now she had passed the point of no return.

After some minutes that actually felt like hours Bilbo started to cough.A lot.

"All this horse hair! I'm Having a reaction..Where did I put it!?" he said euphorically searching for something in his pockets.

" Wait, wait... Stop! We have to turn around!" he then demanded, and so everyone stopped.

"What on earth is the matter?"Complained Gandalf

"I forgot my handkerchief!" he said worried.

They all start to laugh at him, "You'll have to manage without pocket handkerchiefs and a good many other things, Bilbo Baggins, before we reach our journey's end. You were born to the rolling hills and little rivers of the Shire. But home is now behind you. The world is ahead" Said Gandalf.

"Let's go!Move on!" The dwarves obeyed Thorin's command.

"Psss Bilbo" Merwra tried to get Bilbo's attention, he looked at her puzzled.

"What?" he said quietly.

She handed to him a red handkerchief with the initials B.B tailored with a golden line on it,which she picked from her pocket. Merwra grabbed it when Bilbo told her to, after waking you up today, he had given it to her almost a month ago, as a sign of their friendship, to remember of her hobbit life after finishing her quest.

Bilbo grabbed it and smiled at Merwra, recognizing the handkerchief.

"Thank you" he said.

Kili saw what she did, but didn't say anything, he thought that if the other dwarves discovered that they would laugh at her. So he just smirked, touched by what Merwra did.


	9. Enough of Dwarves for One Day!

The road seems to go on, ever, ever on. Hill by hill, mile by mile. But she is actually liking it, the landscapes, the company, even the annoying bugs. Well, that was until the rain begin, she quickly put her hood on, and so did the others, except for Gandalf, that was already wearing his typical pointy hat, and Bilbo, that forgot to bring one.

"Here, I have a spare one, give it to him" Said Kili kindly to Merwra offering a hat. She grabbed it and handed that old brown hat that looked like Gandalf's - except that it was battered and wasn't pointy-to Bilbo, who smiled at Kili and thanked him.

"Mister Gandalf, can't you do something about this deluge?"Asked one of the oldest dwarves.

"It is raining, master Dwarf. And it will continue to rain until the rain is done. If you wish to change the weather of the world, you should find yourself another wizard Dori" Answered Gandalf.

And so the rain continued for hours, but it was almost in June, it was normal.

"I heard once that it's good luck to start a journey on a rainy day" said Oin trying to cheer the mood up.

"No, it's bad luck to start a journey on a rainy day." corrected Balin.

"No, I'm certain that it's good luck" insisted Oin.

They discussed that for so much time that it begun to get dark, but at least the rain had finally stopped.

"See, good luck I told you" Said Oin victoriously when they arrived in a good place to set up a camp.

"We'll camp here for the night" Said Thorin "Oin and Gloin,get a fire going. Fili and Kili, I want you to look after the ponies, and-"

"I don't think that we should stop here Thorin,there is something strange about this place, something it's not right." Gandalf said interrupting Thorin while analyzing the small house made of wood, which now was destroyed.

"I think it would be wiser to move on. We could make for the Hidden Valley, we could get some food and a good place to stay the night, and perhaps even a -" Thorin interrupted him this time.

"I've told you already, I will not go near that place!" protested Thorin,offended.

"Save me from the stubbornness of dwarves." Merwra heard Gandalf saying angry ,walking in the direction that they came from.

"Everything alright? Gandalf, where are you going?" Bilbo asked worried.

"To seek the company of the only one around here who's got any sense," he responded with an angry tone and steady paces as he reached for his horse.

"And who is that?"asked the hobbit again.

"Myself, Mister Baggins!" He shouted. "Had enough of dwarves for one day!"

Gandalf then disappeared into the woods.

Merwra was obeying Thorin and doing everything as he said, Oin and Gloin assembled a fire,Bombur was cooking the food and Fili and Kili were looking after the ponies. Bofur tried to comfort her and Bilbo, as he saw the worried look in their faces.

"He will come back. He's a wizard, he does as he chooses" Said Bofur while filling two bowls with soup. "Here, do us a favour. Take this to the lads". He asked politely to Merwra while handing the bowls and pointing at Fili and Kili.


	10. Sit by the Firelight's Glow

Merwra walked very carefully with a bowl in each hand to don't drop the soup, she arrived at the place where they kept the ponies for the night ,Fili and Kili had just finished to make a fire.

"Hey, I brought your soup guys!" she said handing the bowls and sitting in the middle of them on a branch that Kili picked from the woods.

"Thank you!" both replied at the same time, voraciously eating the soup. Fili was the first one to finish it, putting the bowl on the ground.

"I'll go look for some more wood to keep the fire going, you two keep an eye on the ponies!" he said winking at Kili, who had just finished to eat his soup, and so Fili entered in the woods giggling.

"We will!" Kili answered him.

"So, what are you thinking about being a dwarf?"Asked Kili sprightly like a kid.

"I'm liking it! I mean, I'm tired , soaked and with a beard, but I love the clothes and the fact that I'm taller than a hobbit now" Merwra answered.

"I like your beard" Kili complimented her, but then realized that it might have sounded weird for her.

"I'm getting used to it, I actually kinda of like it now" she said passing her fingers in her new golden facial hair, her side beard started just at the same point of her ears, getting thinner on the way down to her chin.

"The dwarves said that even you have a more beautiful and mighty beard than me, it's kinda of humiliating " He said laughing, playing with the three rings that he was using in his fingers, trying to get one off.

"Here" he said after finally managing to get one of the rings off, giving the one with a dwarvish writing carved on it to Merwra. "Thorin gave this to me on the first time we traveled together; I want you to keep it."

"I can't accept this! Thorin gave it to you,not me!" she said handing the ring back to him.

"I insist" he said opening her hand and placing the ring on the middle of it,and then closing her hand. "I saw what you gave to Bilbo earlier, the handkerchief, and I want you to have something to remind of me when this is over" he smiled at her, the fire was warmly reflecting on their faces.

"I mean, to remind of us! The dwarves!" he said blushing trying to revert what he just said.

Merwra blushed too and looked at the ring; it was a kind of dark metal, very detailed and strong, with some golden lines circulating it and the symbol, that resembled the one Gandalf carved on the door of Bag End.

"What does it mean?" she asked him "It's not simply the dwarvish letter for O is it?"

"It means heritage, estate, possession" He explained her you getting more closer and putting the ring on her right hand's ring finger. "You have a bit of knowledge about our writing, Fascinating!" Kili was happy to discover that about Merwra. "Actually, if used to form a word it does mean O..."

Kili then began to explain the dwarvish writing to Merwra. Her father once taught a little bit of it to her, but she never thought that one day it would be useful. The way that Kili explained it to her made her feel mystified, he began to tell her about the stories of his people, legends and tales,his dreams,his hopes,all that he knew by that firelight's glow. She was so immersed in his stories and in the way he talked about it that the cold,the fact that she was soaked and everything else had gone away, only they two seemed to exist.

And that was why she almost didn't see Fili coming.


	11. The Three Trolls

"I'm not interrupting anything am I?"asked Fili giggling while putting some more wood on the fire.

"No,no of course not!" said Kili embarrassed because he didn't see Fili coming too.

Merwra looked down blushing a little, for her Fili indeed interrupted something. Kili saw the disappointed look in her face and then tried to fix the situation as usual:

"I mean, yes! you are interrupting!" they all began to laugh about the embarrassing situation.

"Well, at least I'm not interrupting your "looking after the ponies", because we've encountered a slight problem." he started the sentence laughing,but ended it worried and staring at the ponies."We had seventeen. Now there's fifteen"

Kili stood up and saw a big uprooted tree that was now occupying the two spots that the ponies were supposed to be.

"Daisy and Bungo are missing" Merwra said standing up as well,shocked. How didn't she notice it?

"Well, that's not good, that is not good at all. Shouldn't we tell Thorin?" suggested Kili.

"Oh, best not worry him. Maybe we could get Bilbo!" she suggested. It was obvious that she was a little bit afraid of Thorin.

They agreed,so she quickly returned to where the other dwarves were resting and found Bilbo.

"Bilbo! We need your help, someone or something stole two of our ponies! Come with me"

"What! Fili and Kili weren't supposed to be looking after them with you?" the hobbit asked stopping in the middle of the way.

"Well, we got a little bit distracted , we were doing, other things…are you coming or not?"She said pushing him.

"What do you mean by other things!? Prim-I mean Merwra, if you have being kissing that dwarf I swear that I-"

"Bilbo stop! We were just chatting! Good gracious! Come" she said blushing a little and taking Bilbo by the hand to the spot where the ponies should be.

"What's the matter?" asked Bilbo when he saw Fili and Kili.

"As our official burglar we thought you might like to look into it." said Fili.

"Well,uh…Looks like something big uprooted these trees."said the hobbit trying to sound clever. "Something very big and possibly quite dangerous."

"That was our thinking" Kili agreed, when suddenly something started to move "Hey, there's a light. Over here. Stay down."he instructed them to hid behind the fallen tree.

"What is it?" Merwra asked intrigued.

For what Kili answered with one word: "Trolls."

Merwra had heard about trolls before, but never saw one, they looked like very tall and fat humans, but more disgusting. One of them saw the ponies and grabbed two more, one with each arm, taking them to the a distant point of light in the woods, probably a fire.

"He's got Myrtle and Mindy! I think they're going to eat them! We have to do something" said Bilbo worried about his pony.

"Yes, you should." Said Kili. "Mountain trolls are slow and stupid, and you're so small" Bilbo wasn't liking how this sentence was ending… "They'll never see you. It's perfectly safe." Kili tried to assure him.

"We'll be right behind you" Merwra added.

"Fine, but what if they capture me!?"Asked Bilbo worried.

"If you run into trouble, hoot twice like a barn owl and once like a brown owl" Instructed Fili.

"Twice like a barn owl, twice like a brown... Once like... Are you sure this is a good idea?" Bilbo asked while following the trolls very quietly.

They stayed behind the fallen tree for some more minutes, worried about Bilbo's safety, especially Merwra.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine" Kili tried to comfort her when suddenly they heard someone calling for help.

It was Bilbo.


	12. The Burglarhobbit

"We need to get Thorin, now!" Merwra said frightened. Kili started to run as fast as he could, until he finally arrived at the camp, Thorin was taking a nap but quickly woke up just by the mention of his name.

"Thorin! We need you!"Said Kili still trying to catch his breath.

"Wake up!" yelled Thorin to the dwarves that were sleeping, they all stood up worried, Thorin had a powerful voice indeed, because even the birds that were sleeping quietly in the woods flew away scared.

"Now, what is the matter, Kili?" asked Thorin after assembling all his company in a line.

"Bilbo .captured .Trolls. they took the ponies and Bilbo!" Kili managed to say after finally catching his breath once again.

All the dwarves picked their weapons and ran,passing by the tree that Merwra and Fili were hiding waiting for them.

"Here, I brought these for you." Kili said handing two detailed ,angled and sharpened dwarvish swords to Fili. "Stay here Merwra, it might be dangerous"

"No I will not just sit here and wait!Look,Ori is going and he only has a slingshot!" She protested.

"Hoy! I heard that!"Complained Ori,she didn't know that he heard her.

Fili smiled at Merwra,he knew that she was not like the other ladies. "Here, you can take one of mine" he said handing the lightest sword to her.

Kili had a disapproving look in his face, but he saw that Merwra was determined to help, and nothing was going to stop her.

She picked the sword and followed the dwarves with Fili and Kili by her side,they quickly approached the place where the trolls were keeping the ponies, fortunately Bilbo was still fine. Well, he was being hung by his feet, with the trolls trying to discover if there were some "Burglarhobbits",whatever that is supposed to mean, hidden in the woods,but he was in one piece,until now. Merwra spotted the four ponies that were missing, fortunately they haven't been eaten yet. It seemed to be the perfect opportunity to attack.

"Drop him!" Demanded Kili, who went first to see if they would give Bilbo back.

"You what?" said one of the trolls, as if Kili was just an insignificant ant in the ground, waiting to be smashed.

"I said drop him!" demanded Kili once more, swinging his sword threateningly, staring at the troll that just simply answered:

"No! Tom, give me a sack!"The troll that went by the name Tom quickly threw a sack as requested, and before Kili could protest the other troll put him into the sack, leaving only his head out ,so he could breathe.

"Kili!" Merwra screamed, denouncing where she and the dwarves were hiding. They jumped out of the bushes and attacked the trolls, she never felt so afraid of Thorin before: he stabbed his sword in Tom's foot ,scratched the other troll's leg and cut off a finger of the one who was cooking. Merwra was not having much luck with the sword, but she stabbed it on the foot of the troll that captured Kili so deep that she almost didn't get it out,causing the troll to shout with pain. Thorin and the other dwarves repaired just at that moment that she was fighting with them, they stared at her speechless. Thorin smirked at her, he probably didn't find her useless anymore.

Even Ori managed to hit the eye of the troll that was cooking with a rock, The others were not having the same luck : Bombur was the first one to be put into a sack, followed by Ori ,Bifur and Merwra. Soon all the dwarves were put into sacks.


	13. Mine are the Biggest Parasites!

The trolls then began to argue about how they would prepare the dwarves and the hobbit, if they should season them, grill them, or even sit on them. When one of trolls protested:

"Never mind the seasoning,we ain't got all night! Dawn ain't far away,I don't fancy being turned to stone."

"Wait!" interrupted Bilbo, that information was very interesting. "You are making a terrible mistake!"

One of the dwarves that was tied to some others in a big tree to cook in the fire muttered something.

"I meant with the... with the seasoning!"Bilbo said trying to gain time.

"What about the seasoning?" asked the troll offended.

"Well, have you smelled them? You're gonna need something more than sage!"explained the hobbit.

"Traitor!" one of the dwarves protested, but Merwra knew Bilbo,he was up to something.

"The secret to cooking Dwarf is…" Bilbo said getting the full attention of the trolls "to… skin them first!"

"Tom, get me filletin' knife!" said the troll that was cooking.

Merwra couldn't believe that they were falling for that.

"I won't forget that. I won't forget that!" said Dwalin, apparently even the dwarves fell in Bilbo's trap.

When one of the trolls was about to pick Bombur, Bilbo interrupted:

"Not that one. He is... he's infected!" Bilbo quickly dominated the situation again,causing the troll to drop Bombur in the ground scared.

"He what?"Tom asked

"Yeah, he's got worms in his tubes!" Bilbo said,Merwra almost didn't contain her laugh. "In... in fact, they all have! They're infested with parasites. It's a terrible business! I wouldn't risk it, I really wouldn't" The trolls were really one of the dumbest creatures in middle earth, Merwra started to wonder if Gandalf added the possibility to change into a troll in her bracelet,but she didn't remember.

"Parasites? Did he say parasites?" Asked one of the dwarves that was in a sack near Merwra,Fili,Kili,Thorin,Ori and the others that she couldn't remember the name.

"We don't have parasites!" protested Kili " YOU have parasites!" Bilbo just rolled his eyes,they were not understanding his plan! Except for Merwra and Thorin,that kicked Kili,making all the dwarves shut up,and maybe finally understanding what was going on.

"I've got parasites as big as my arm!" Merwra yelled,trying very hard to not laugh.

"Mine are the biggest parasites!" Said Kili, finally working the situation out. "I've got huge parasites!"

"What would you have us do then? Let them all go?" said the troll that got his finger cut off, he was probably the smartest of the three trolls." You think I don't know what you're up to? This little ferret is trying to fool us!"

"Ferret!" the hobbit protested offended.

When suddenly Merwra spotted Gandalf near the trees, she didn't notice but the morning sun was already beginning to rise in the sky.

"The dawn will take you all!" Gandalf said hitting his staff against a rock,causing it to crack and revel the sunlight, that transformed the trolls immediately into stone.

After Gandalf finished freeing all the dwarves from the fire and the sacks,and the ponies,Thorin confronted him:

"Where did you go to, if I may ask?"

"To look ahead" he simply answered.

"What brought you back?" he asked puzzled.

"Looking behind. Nasty business. Still, they are all in one piece" said Gandalf , Merwra though for one second that she would never see him again.

"No thanks to your burglar" said Thorin staring at the poor Bilbo.

"He had a plan! None of us thought of that!" Merwra confronted him.

"Since when do mountain trolls venture this far?" Thorin asked to Gandalf, ignoring her."They could not have moved in daylight" he added.

"There must be a cave nearby!" Said Bilbo, getting in the middle of the conversation.


	14. The Perforator

Merwra searched and soon found a trail of huge footsteps that led to a path between the trees,Kili and her started to follow it,and hidden in the bushes there was a big ,dark and awfully smelly cave.

"Over here !" Kili shouted to the dwarves.

"Oh, what's that stench?" Said Ori tripping in the branches near the cave as he arrived with the others.

"It's a troll-hoard. Be careful what you touch." Said Gandalf leading the way through the cave.

There were bones in the ground, among some food and rotten fruits,making the air smell horrible,Merwra continued to follow Gandalf with the others holding torches ,getting deeper in the cave, and that was when she saw it: the piles of golden coins,some small chests filled with goblets,crowns,necklaces,earings and all sorts of treasures.

She repaired in something that looked like a sword,but smaller,she picked it up carefully and handed it to Bilbo.

"Look what I found! This is about your size!"she said to the hobbit,that picked the tiny sword that was indeed his size, with his left hand,the other was busy covering his nose with the red handkerchief.

"I can't take this!" he said with his voice muffled by the handkerchief.

Merwra ignored what he said and focused on Bofur and two other dwarves that were burying some small chests.

"We're making a long-term deposit!" explained Bofur,noticing her curiosity.

"Let's get out of this foul place! Come on, let's go: Bofur, Glóin, Nori!" Said Thorin to them,that obeyed him after burying the chests.

Merwra quickly got out of the cave,glad to breathe pure air again. Gandalf saw the odd sword that Bilbo was now carrying:

"Where did you got this?" Gandalf confronted him.

"Merwra found it and gave to me. I never used a sword in my life!" the scared hobbit replied under his breath.

"And I hope you never have to. But if you do, remember this: True courage is about knowing not when to take a life, but when to spare one" Wisely said Gandalf,taking the sword out of it's case. "The blade is of Elvish make, which means it will glow blue when Orcs or goblins are nearby."he explained.

And Merwra had thought that this small sword was only a letter opener!

She repaired that now Gandalf and Thorin were carrying elvish swords too,she stared at Fili's sword,that she almost forgot that she was still carrying,it was a not elvish blade,but was strong ,powerful and light.

She spotted Fili talking to Kili ,as usual, and handed back the sword to him. "Thank you for lending it to me Fili,it helped me a lot!"

"Oh,hey Merwra! Yes, we saw the way you stabbed it on that troll's foot! I didn't know you had that inside of you!"they laughed.

"You know what-"Fili said after staring at his sword for a moment. "You should keep it, you need it more than me"

"What? Are you sure?" she asked ,for what Fili simply answered nodding with his head.

"Thank you!" she said giving him a hug.

"If you want,I can teach you some moves with the sword later!"Kili suggested,trying to enter in the conversation.

"Sure! I would love to!" Merwra smiled at him.

"You know,swords- and even names,like Oakenshield-are named for the great deeds they did in war…"Fili interrupted the awkward silence. "I never gave a name for my swords,but I think that you should name yours after what you did today"

"The perforator!" suggested Kili laughing. "It's a very good idea! I like it"

"So,perforator it is!"Merwra said proudly lifting the dwarvish sword, as if it was an elvish one.


	15. Radagast,the Brown

"Something's coming!" Said Dwalin.

A kind of sleigh ,made of wood and branches, pulled by what seemed to be rabbits was getting closer very fast.

"Gandalf!" Bilbo screamed scared

"Stay together! Hurry now. Arm yourselves!" He said to the dwarves.

But Merwra smiled,she only knew someone that had such an odd mean of transportation: Radagast.

"Thieves! Fire! Murder!" the strange wizard said frightened.

"Radagast! Radagast the Brown. What on earth are you doing here?" Gandalf asked after recognizing the wizard.

"I was looking for you, Gandalf. Something's terribly wrong!" He said,still trying to catch his breath.

"Radagast!" Merwra said smiling. "It's me !"

"Sorry, I think that I don't know who you are dear!" He replied kindly.

"It's me! Well,I'm not a hobbit with straight hair anymore,Gandalf helped me!"she said showing her bracelet to him, after realizing that Radagast only saw her as a human and a hobbit.

"Oh!You yes!Do they know who you actually are?" he asked pointing at the dwarves.

"No,not even Gandalf,it is for my safety,you know."

"Yes,yes I do…"he confirmed getting lost in his own thoughts for a second,then Gandalf broke the silence:

"You didn't answer my question,old friend"

Radagast began to say something about the Greenwood,spiders and something else Merwra couldn't understand,but by the terrified look in Gandalf's face she knew that were bad news.

"Are you sure?" Gandalf asked to him worried.

"That is not from the world of the living!" Radagast confirmed.

She felt a chill run through her body,but it wasn't because of the news,but by the howl she just heard.

"Are there- are there wolves out there?" she asked worried.

"Wolves? No, that is not a wolf" said Thorin,she felt relieved for a moment,but when she looked at the expression on his face she realized that was something worst,much worst. "Warg scouts, which means an Orc pack is not far behind"

"Orc pack!?" Said Bilbo frightened.

"Who did you tell about your quest beyond your kin?" Gandalf furiously asked Thorin.

"No one!" He answered, Gandalf wasn't convinced yet. "No one, I swear! What in Durin's name is going on?"

"You are being hunted."Radagast said shocked. " You need to get out of here"

"We can't. We have no ponies! They bolted!" Ori stated,he was worst than Fili , Kili and Merwra to look after the ponies.

"I'll draw them off!" Said Radagast decided.

"These are Gundabad wargs. They will outrun you!" Gandalf protested getting in his way.

"These are Rhosgobel rabbits!" proudly said Radagast,what made the dwarves,especially Merwra,Fili and Kili, giggle staring at each other. "I'd like to see them try."Radagast said with confidence, ignoring the laughs.


	16. A day as a Warg

Radagast jumped on his sleigh and disappeared in front of them,the rabbits really were fast!The dwarves watched as the orc pack that was mounted in wargs started to follow Radagast. Merwra remembered then that Gandalf had added a warg form in her bracelet,she looked at him,he appeared to have thought about the same idea.

She searched with her fingers for the bead on her bracelet that had a warg carved on it,when she found it, she hold the bead with both hands and with her eyes closed,mentalizing the shape of a warg,just like the way Radagast had taught her.

And so it happened: she was standing in their side as a huge and threatening light brown warg,her bracelet had transformed itself in a kind of leash. The most of the dwarves didn't see her transform,and when they were about to attack her Kili got in their way:

"Stop! It's Merwra!" he said standing in front of her,with his arms opened to draw the attention to him,worried that they would hurt her. "She transformed herself into a warg,it's part of the plan" he explained petting her head,which she responded by closing her eyes ,enjoying it,she couldn't control her reaction,it was her instinct. Or she thought so.

The dwarves dropped their weapons and stared at Merwra. "I need you to find a passage hidden in the rocks,it will lead to Rivendell, when you have found it return here and show us the way,but please,be careful!" Instructed Gandalf whispering to her.

She ran searching for the passage Gandalf told her about,it was a strange feeling,running with four legs, she tripped over her own paws on the beginning,but quickly got used to it,to feel the grass beneath her claws and the enormous teeth in her mouth.

She saw some wargs running in her direction,they were all being mounted by orcs,Merwra had never seen both before,the orcs were much smaller than the trolls,probably of the same size of a dwarf,but just as disgusting. She followed the pack,they stopped near some rocks and apparently because there wasn't an orc mounting her, they left Merwra to guard that suspicious place.

The orc that seemed to be the leader said something that she couldn't understand, and led the pack to follow Radagast.

Merwra quickly worked out that it had to be the passage Gandalf told her about. Then she analyzed and memorized her surroundings before running to find the dwarves,using her new accurate sense of smell.

Fili , Kili and Thorin were the first ones to see her coming, "She's back !" they told to Gandalf.

"Let's go!" Thorin said,waiting for all the dwarves to pass by him before leaving the hideout.

Merwra led them to the place where she was supposed to be ,a small orc pack saw the dwarves and begun to follow them,she ran as fast as she could,she saw that Ori was being left behind, so she picked him up with her mouth around his waist,carefully to not hurt him, she reached the place first,and gently put Ori down.

"I cannot see where the pathway leads. Do I follow it or no?" He asked to Gandalf,that arrived just behind them.

Merwra rolled her eyes frustrated and hit Ori with her paw,making him slip down in the rock that led to the secret passage,screaming scared on the way down.


	17. The Orc Pack

"I'm alright!" Ori screamed from the cave "There is a passage over here!"

"Follow it!" said Gandalf .

"Of course" Bofur arrived and laughed while slipping in the rock that led to the cave.

"I think that would be wise." Said Gandalf giggling staring at Merwra,surprised by the way she handled the situation.

When she suddenly heard : "The Dwarf-scum are over there! After them!" the leader of the orcs shouted violently.

The orc pack was getting closer.

Fili ,Kili and Thorin were fighting them ahead to gain time,so the other dwarves could arrive in the cave. Kili was shooting arrows at the orcs, Fili was attacking the wargs with his sword and war hammer while Thorin was majestically killing all the wargs that tried to pass by him,that elvish sword was really amazing,Thorin didn't even need to make effort,he could just hold the sword still that when a warg tried to pass by it,his head would be chopped off.

As Bombur passed by them,Fili went with him ,leaving only Thorin and Kili fighting the orc pack. Merwra was still waiting for them,howling to protest, "Move! Run!" that was what she were trying to say,but they ignored her and her howls.

"Go Kili,now!"Thorin said,the whole pack was coming now.

"I'll not leave you here alone!" Kili answered after shooting an arrow that hit exactly in the eye of a warg,when he was about to shoot another one,he realized that he was out of arrows.

Thorin began to run,he saw that it was impossible to go on, he grabbed Kili -that was in the top of a rock shooting the wargs -by his hood. Merwra could see that Thorin was going to drop him,she anticipated it,and before she could realize,she was running in their direction.

Merwra picked Kili in the exact same way she did with Ori and slipped to the cave at the same time as Thorin.

The dwarves were all there waiting,relieved to see that the Thorin and his nephews were all in one piece.

Merwra found the bead that had the beard carving and started to mentalize her in the form of a dwarf,changing automatically. The dwarves congratulated her,now she felt like she was one of them,a member of Thorin Oakenshield's company.

Someone hugged her with his left hand in her shoulder, and his right hand in her eyes so she couldn't see who it was,she quickly removed the hand from her face and faced Kili,who was smiling like a little kid,she hugged him very tight,Kili hugged her back even tighter, they both closed their eyes:

"I'll never be able to thank you enough for what you did" he said to her.

"I thought for one second that I had lost you" she whispered to him.

The sounds outside the cave seemed to have disappeared,as if there was only them in the whole , actually, it was quiet because the orc pack was dead,the elves killed them,as Thorin discovered when a elvish arrow fell in the cave.

"SO!" screamed Bilbo,trying to get everyone's attention,especially Merwra's. "Let's go now,shall we?"

She sweetly pulled Kili away from the hug and friendly hugged Fili.

They all had to walk in a line following Gandalf to pass through the tight passage,that led to a sort of castle, Merwra had never seen nothing like it before,the waterfalls,the beautifully colored trees,everything seemed to be a dream.

"The Valley of Imladris. But in the common tongue it's known by another name." Said Gandalf after all the dwarves had arrived.

"Rivendell" Merwra and Bilbo said together.


	18. Elen síla lúmenn' omentielvo

"This was your plan all along! To seek refuge with our enemy!" Thorin was furious.

"You have no enemies here, Thorin Oakenshield. The only ill will to be found in this valley is that which you bring yourself!" Gandalf confronted him.

"You think the Elves would give our quest their blessing? They will try to stop us!" Thorin said following Gandalf that was leading the way to the gates of Rivendell.

"Of course they will! But we have questions that need to be answered. If we are to be successful, this will need to be handled with tact and respect, and no small degree of charm. Which is why you will leave the talking to me." Said Gandalf,he always had a plan ready.

Merwra followed the dwarves through that narrow and dangerous road that went down to the gate of Rivendell. When they arrived,Gandalf recognized one of the elves,his name was Lindir,Merwra always wanted to meet a elf,she only knew that they were elegant,one of the wisest creatures on middle-earth and had pointy ears. Her father, Addraran, wasn't very fond of elves just like Thorin,but her mother, Cadiliniel, admired them, she even taught to Merwra a little bit of their language.

Suddenly, a elf followed by some others appeared mounted on his majestic horse. The elf was strong as a warrior,even his horse was covered with armors,he seemed to be very wise and respectable, he was the meaning of the word nobel. Gandalf said something to him in elvish,Merwra just understood two words of what he said: "friend" and "where".The elf got down of his horse and said something about a orc pack and a hidden pass.

"Welcome, Thorin, son of Thráin! and this must be your company!"the elf said,he had to be lord Elrond,and if he was a lord,Merwra's mom once taught to her that when someone noble was in the same place as she, show respect was indispensable.

"Elen síla lúmenn' omentielvo"* Merwra said to him, walking on his direction and doing a reverence.

Both elves and dwarves looked at her surprised.

"Well,what do we have here?" the elf said staring at her "a dwarf that can speak elvish,very good!" he said smiling." Man esselya ná?"*

"Nányë Merwra, melda heru"* She replied.

"Á tulë asenyë" Elrond said staring at her and the dwarves, he started to walk and she started to follow him.

"What is he saying? Does he offer us insult?" One of the dwarves asked to Gandalf,offended.

Elrond stopped and talked with Gandalf for a minute." No, master Glóin. He is offering you food."Gandalf said

"Ah, well. In that case, lead on!" Glóin answered him,following Thorin and the rest of the company.

As lord Elrond requested, the table was quickly set for dinner, more food was arranged as well as more chairs to accommodate the guests. Merwra sat in the middle of Fili and Kili,all the dwarves got used to it by now,it was like Merwra ,Fili and Kili had known each other forever. The others dwarves soon joined them,Bilbo sat in front of her,he was really protective.

The dinner was in one word "green".The dwarves were frustrated,not a single type of meat,only vegetables,salad,and all sorts of green leaves. They ate almost everything though,they were all very hungry! Gandalf and Thorin discovered the name of the swords they found on that cave of the trolls, the one that he was carrying was named Orcrist, the Goblin Cleaver and the one Gandalf was carrying: Glamdring, the Foe-Hammer.

Merwra encouraged Bilbo to show his sword to lord Elrond,but he knew that his sword hasn't seen battle yet, therefore it didn't had a name.

***Translation:***

* Elen síla lúmenn' omentielvo - A star shines on the hour of our meeting

* Man esselya ná - What is your name?

* Nányë Merwra, melda heru - I am Merwra, beloved lord

* Á tulë asenyë - Come with me


	19. The Elven Thief

After the dinner,Thorin , Gandalf and Balin went to another room to see if Lord Elrond could read the map for them , Merwra and the others were in a kind of living room - that had a place to start a fire in the middle of it-just talking to each other,when Kili had an idea that he thought was brilliant:

"Merwra, what if you transformed yourself in an elf,went to the kitchen and see if you could find something eatable…"The dwarves approved the idea.

"You already ate! and drank barrels and more barrels of beer! Why you just don't drink them until feeling your stomach!?" She felt offended because of what Kili said,She was not their waitress! But she was so hungry! And didn't drink that much beer, she never understood why everyone likes it.

They all stood quiet for a moment,realizing that they may have offended her,especially Kili.

"Fine, I'll go!"she said, they all started to celebrate,rising their mugs that were full with beer."But it is only because I'm hungry too,and I want to see how I would look as an elf"

Merwra quickly found the bead with a leaf carved on it and started to mentalize an elf: the pointy ears,the delicate hair and the detailed dress, successfully becoming an elf.

Kili choked with the beer.

"You look amazing! Like a queen! " He said blushing,realizing that he said that out loud,but Merwra and the others were used to it. "Say something in elvish to us!"he said to her.

"Istan quetë ya merin, ar lá hanyuvatyen!"* Merwra Said giggling while leaving the room walking in the direction of the kitchen,she saw where it was during the dinner.

"What does that mean?" asked Kili laughing,but she was already gone.

She walked trying to look normal, but she couldn't contain herself,she needed to find a mirror to see how she looked. When Merwra was arriving at the corridor that led to the kitchen when she passed by a mirror hung in the wall,she returned and faced her reflection. She was shocked of how she looked similar to her"normal" form. She touched her pointy ears,giggling excited, and passed her fingers in her perfect hair. She was wearing a kind of beautifully detailed elvish tiara in her forehead,and also wearing a lovely light green dress.

Merwra remembered her mission and quickly arrived on the kitchen,without anyone seeing her. There was green food all around,but she spotted something reddish:sausages!

She heard someone approaching and quickly grabbed the sausage chain,hiding it in the sleeve of her dress. She quickly got out and ran to find the other dwarves that were anxiously waiting for her.

"Did you find some meat?" Dwalin asked. Merwra did a disappointed look and then suddenly picked the sausages she hid in her sleeve:

"This was all that I could find,but I think that there are 1 or 2 for everyone." The dwarves celebrated,Oin and Glóin quickly started a fire in the middle of the room with some branches of the nearby trees and they all sat in a circle,each one with a twig and 2 sausages stuck into it.

After talking and eating,most of the dwarves went to their rooms,except for Merwra and Kili,that were still talking.

"Does it hurt?" Kili asked to her.

***Translation***

"Istan quetë ya merin, ar lá hanyuvatyen!"-I can say what I wish, and you won't understand me


	20. Why don't you have braids?

"What?" Merwra answered Kili with a question.

"When you…transform?" Kili asked her.

"It didn't use to,but since I transformed into a dwarf it gets worst everytime,but not a kind of unbearable pain, just like the kind of pain you feel when you get a scratch or something like it…" Merwra said while staring at the fire,without seeing Kili's reaction.

"If I knew that I wouldn't ask you to transform into an elf! I'm so sorry I didn't mean to…" Kili said regretting his actions. " I won't let anyone hurt yo- I will never hurt you aga-" he said trying to find the right words to say just three: I am sorry. " I just don't want you to get hurt" .Kili stared at her, with his eyes full with sorrow.

"Thank you" Merwra simply answered smiling at him. The mood in the room was dark as the night,they just faced the fire for a long time before Merwra interrupted the silence saying something unexpected:

"Why don't you have braids in your hair?"

"What?" Kili asked giggling.

"Well,all the dwarves have long beards and mustaches,maybe they would accept you more if you had some braids "

"You mean like uncle Thorin?" he said raising his eyebrows.

"Maybe, I don't know. You didn't answer my question in first place…"

"Oh, I don't have time to braid my hair,I don't like to spend so much time worried about my appearance and-" Merwra interrupted him:

"You don't know how to do it, do you?" she asked laughing.

"Yes, I actually don't" he said embarrassed.

"Well,maybe I could do some for you, I think you would look very majestic with braids…"

"Just as majestic as Thorin?" Kili asked causing Merwra to laugh.

"I can't promise anything, but I'll try" she said getting closer to him and starting to braid his hair. There was an odd silence for a moment, with just the sound of Merwra passing her fingers thorough Kili's hair. For a second they looked like little children.

"Why do you like Thorin so much?" she sweetly asked to Kili while continuing making braids in his hair.

"He is a living legend" he simply answered,turning his face and staring at her,causing her to stop braiding his hair,but she quickly moved his face with her fingers to continue to work in the braid. " All those stories about him are true ,you know? About Azog,the defiler, the oak he used as a shield…" Kili said proudly.

"I thought that they were only stories…" She said starting to do a braid in the back of his head,while he told more about his uncle. Kili really respected and loved him,and made Merwra begin to see another side of Thorin.

"Here, I finished" Merwra said staring and smiling at Kili after braiding two braids in the side of his ears , just like Thorin's, and a bigger one in the back of his head. "You look very majestic! I can see your forehead now!" she said while trying to find a mirror . She went to her room and found a hand mirror, she quickly returned to the living room and gave it to Kili.

"Here,what do you think?" she said while revealing his new appearance.

"I liked it!" he said while analyzing his own reflection "Thank you!" he enthusiastically hugged her.

"What is going on over here?" Bofur suddenly appear ,looking very tired. "Oh,I'm interrupting ?" he said pointing at them,what made them realize that they were still hugging each other,so they quickly pulled the hug apart.

"You know, I had a feeling about you two when I met her. Look at you Kili! Finally found a girl! I need to tell Thorin! -as if he already didn't know - Might we expect a happy announcement by the end of the week?" Bofur said staring at Kili and Merwra,that just blushed madly.

"Go to sleep now you two!" he demanded clapping,as if he could scare them in that way. "Or you will not stay awake tomorrow!" he said pushing Kili to the room that he was sharing with Fili and Bofur. " You too young lady ,go to sleep! You can survive without him for 8 hours!" Merwra blushed and walked to her small room,quickly removing her shoes and laying in her bed,she felt all the tiredness and fatigue at once,and quickly fell asleep.


	21. The Dragon Spell

As the sun raised in the horizon, Gandalf was participating in a council: The White Council, with the wizard Saruman:the White,Lord Elrond and Lady Galadriel.

They discussed about the Greenwood,and the possibility of a Necromancer and of course, Smaug:

"The dragon has long been on your mind." The Lady said to Gandalf.

"It is true, My Lady."He answered "Smaug owes allegiance to no one. But if he should side with the enemy a dragon could be used to terrible effect.I do believe that we have a powerful ally in our company…"

"The dwarf girl" Galadriel said smiling.

"She is actually a human,but she is able to shape shift because Radagast made an enchanted bracelet for her. I thought that if we could find a spell to give her the possibility to transform into a dragon maybe we-" Gandalf was interrupted by Saruman,who wasn't liking the idea at all:

"Radagast? Do not speak to me of Radagast the Brown! He's a foolish fellow! And this girl you spoke of, the power demanded to transform her in a dragon is absurd! And for what? Because some selfish dwarves want their gold back?" He protested confronting them.

"They just want their homeland back,Smaug killed hundreds of lives,it has come the time to defeat him." Gandalf calmly,but authoritatively said.

"I know of an antique spell,that allows any living form to transform into a dragon,however I do not know if it works, not a single wizard that I know tried it before" Lord Elrond said,going to his library and returning with a scroll,which he put on the table.

Gandalf started to analyze it ,passing his fingers in the discolored ink that once boldly marked the spell in the scrool. Fortunately, the words were still all still there,the only problem was to know if they were powerful enough.

Saruman tried to read it, but Gandalf quickly grabbed the scroll and thanked Lord Elrond for giving it to him, when suddenly a worried elf appeared:

"My Lord Elrond. The Dwarves... They've gone!"

"You knew…" Lady Galadriel said to Gandalf using her mind.

Lord Elrond and Saruman quickly followed the elf,but Lady Galadriel and Gandalf stayed there talking to each other:

"You will follow them?"she asked.

"They will need my help, especially the girl"Gandalf said

"You are right to help Thorin Oakenshield, but I fear this quest has set in motion forces we do not yet understand. The spell may not work,you need to warn the girl,you must be careful,they will need her help."

She said to him when he grabbed the scroll and headed to the gates of Rivendell.


	22. Holding hands,being destroyed by rocks

"Merwra!" She heard someone saying while trying to wake her up.

"Merwra! Let's go!" She finally opened her eyes and saw Kili's face .She rubbed her eyes with her hands because of the bright light that penetrated in the room from the window.

"Where?" Merwra asked while putting on her boots.

"To continue our journey, of course!" Kili said while helping her to stand up, as if she needed help "Thorin is waiting for us!"He grabbed Merwra by her hand, causing her to feel almost a kind of spark, and finally awake.

As they left Merwra's room,they found all the dwarves and Bilbo near the gates of Rivendell organizing the supplies that they still had with the new ones the elves had provided.

"Holding hands now, you two?Well that's lovely! "Bofur said after seeing Kili and Merwra, who thought about letting their hands go,but Kili instead held Merwra's hand even tighter than before.

All the dwarves were staring at them with mixed opinions in their faces: Fili,Bofur,Balin ,Ori,Bombur and Nori seemed to be smiling at them, while the others-specially Thorin and Bilbo- had a disapproving look in their faces.

"Where is Gandalf?" Fili asked interrupting the odd silence.

"We will wait in the mountains until Gandalf join us" Thorin said opening the gates very carefully to not make a sound.

"Be on your guard, we're about to step over the Edge of the Wild. Balin, you know these paths, lead on!" Kili and Merwra let their hands go and started to follow Thorin,the dwarves and Bilbo did as well.

As them stepped out of Rivendell safety to continue the dangerous path that led to the mountais ,the sky turned dark,and a violent rain started.

"Take this" Suddenly Ori that was in front of Merwra said handing to her one knitted scarf ,she grabbed it and thanked him.

"I never had the chance to thank you for what you did back there,when you were a…warg" He kindly said "You saved my life"

"Thank you Ori!" She said giving him a hug,he was just too "ad_ori_ble."

The storm got worst, rocks seemed to be flying above their heads.

"This is no thunderstorm, It's a thunder-battle! Look!" One of the dwarves said frightened pointing at a rock that was coming towards them.

"The legends are true! Giant! Stone Giants!" Thorin said as a rock cracked on his feet,causing the path to divide the company and itself in two.

"Grab my hand Merwra!" Kili said as they were being separated apart,but it was too late,she tried, but the crack was too big for her to reach his hand or try to jump.

"Look out!" Fili said to her after seeing Merwra and some of the other dwarves being smashed by a rock.

"MERWRA!" Kili screamed desperately,but they didn't hear an answer.


	23. The Moment of Truth

Everything stopped.

The rain,the thunders,the violent wind,and mostly Kili's heart as he realized that it was the end,she was dead.

At that moment he truly felt the difference that Merwra had made in his life, only now he knew that he couldn't live without her,that he felt a special love for her,different from the one he had for his brother,his uncle and the other dwarves.

"No!" he cried kneeling on the ground with his heart broken.

They were still trying to understand what just happened,when suddenly the rock that was crushing the others suddenly lifted,as if it was alive.

That was a stone giant.

And that was when he saw her,Merwra,with her eyes closed, hugging Thorin scared as if he could protect her from death.

As she opened her eyes she immediately saw Kili,the only thing she could do was smile at him,glad to see how much he cared about her.

"They are alive!" he said to the others that were behind him.

"We're all right. We're alive!" Thorin shouted to them happy.

"Where is Bilbo?" Merwra asked,trying to find him.

"There!" Fili said pointing at the hobbit that was hanging in a rock almost falling into the enormous abyss.

"Someone grab him!Quickly!" Merwra desperately shouted.

"Grab my hand, Bilbo!"Kili automatically ran into Bilbo's direction and tried to reach his hand to lift him,but instead Kili was being dragged by Bilbo's strength.

Thorin quickly jumped to their side and grabbed Kili by his legs,pulling him and Bilbo up.

"I thought we had lost our burglar!" Fili said helping Thorin to lift Bilbo and Kili.

"He's been lost ever since he left home! He should never have come, he has no place amongst us" Thorin said,Merwra just stared at him,shocked by the way he talked about Bilbo,and a little surprised that he didn't make a similar comment about her.

"We must find shelter,Kili, go search for a cave,now!" Thorin demanded,and so Kili did, Thorin seemed to be very angry about the feelings Kili had for Merwra.

"It looks safe enough" Kili thought when he found an unoccupied cave. He quickly called Thorin who agreed that it was safe and so all the company spent the night in the cold floor of that dark cave ,at least it was better than to continue the journey.

Glóin was about to get a fire started,but Thorin objected:

"No fires, not in this place. Get some sleep. We leave at first light!" They all did as commanded, Merwra then remembered that Bilbo had brought some blankets.

"Bilbo!" she happily said hugging him so tight that he could barely breathe.

"You're….suffocating…me!" the hobbit said laughing.

"Sorry! It's just that I'm glad that you're okay!" She sweetly said kissing his little cheek.

He blushed and smiled at her,without knowing what to do for second, but then he quickly grabbed a green blanket and gave it to her.

"This one is yours, I thought that you might need it,although I don't know if it's still of your size"

"No problem, thank you! Goodnight!" she said after picking the fluffy and warm blanket.

"Oh,and about that dwarf –" he started, with one hand on his waist and the other pointing at her, as if he was giving an order-and as if she was going to obey it-.

"Goodnight Bilbo!" she said laughing, trying to find a place to sleep , fortunately Kili had reserved a place for her near him.


	24. Confessions in the Dark

"Here, Merwra!" Kili said showing a place he reserved for her. She smiled at him and put her green blanket on the cold ground of the cave.

While all the others had already settled down and were sleeping,Merwra and Kili were not having the same luck: Merwra was having nightmares about being destroyed by a flying rock,while Kili's dreams were being infested by the fear of losing someone that he loved.

Merwra woke up scared.

"It's everything alright sweetheart?" Bofur,who took the first watch, asked worried.

"I'm fine, it was just a nightmare…" she said trying to find him in the darkness,but she only saw the entrance of the cave,the dark blue sky with stars and the white full moon drawing the shadow of his funny hat.

She got up and drank some water of her canteen,when suddenly Kili also woke up,gasping for air, he seemed to have experienced an even scarier nightmare.

"Kili,what happened?" she asked sitting near him, "you're sweating!" she quickly poured some water in her blanket and touched his forehead with it. "you had a nightmare?" he answered nodding with his head.

"So that makes two of us" she said while putting the blanket away,he already looked a lot better " What was yours about?" he asked sitting in his blanket and doing a gesture with his hand inviting her to join him.

"About the stone giants, and about the moment that I almost died"she said after sitting by his side. " Yours?"she asked.

"Same, but worst" he simply said "how?" she asked puzzled. " In mine you died." Kili said staring at her,he looked worried .They stayed looking at each other's eyes for what seemed an eternity, without knowing what to do next.A curious noise echoed in the cave: it was Bilbo.

They followed the hobbit with their eyes, heading to the cave entrance with his backpack.

"Where do you think you're going?" said Bofur's voice,it was too dark to see him,apparently he was sitting on a rock beside the cave entrance, hidden in the shadows.

"Back to Rivendell" Bilbo said, causing Mewra and Kili to stand up and follow him, to hear the conversation closer.

"No, no. You can't turn back now! You're part of the company, you're one of us!" they heard Bofur saying while they were deviating from the dwarves that were sleeping.

"I'm not though, am I? Thorin said I should never have come, and he was right. I'm not a Took, I'm a Baggins!" the hobbit answered maybe too loud, causing Thorin to wake up, opening his eyes. "I don't know what I was thinking!" Bilbo said trying to control the volume of his voice.

"You were thinking just like me" Merwra said stepping out of the darkness,scaring the poor Bilbo. " I think that maybe I should go with you…"

"What?!" they asked surprised.

"I almost died tonight!" she said scared remembering the fear that she felt. "Maybe it is better if I return with Bilbo. We don't belong here." Merwra said while staring at Kili. She knew that she couldn't stay with him,her parents would never accept him.

"You're homesick, I understand!" Kili said taking her hands trying to comfort her.

"No, you don't. You don't understand.I could have died!And we haven't even arrived near the mountain!" she said looking at Bilbo,letting go from Kili's hands. "None of you do, you're Dwarves. You're used to this life, to living on the road, never settling in one place, not belonging anywhere!" she stopped after realizing how horrible that sounded "I'm sorry, I didn't..."

"No, you're right, we don't belong anywhere...I wish you all the luck in the world, I really do!" Bofur said staring at her and Bilbo.

"Please!"Kili begged taking her hands again. " I can't lose you again! I…I- I love you!" he said looking deep in her eyes,for what she responded blushing and staring at Kili,without knowing what to think,and before she could start to rationalize , he grabbed Merwra by her shoulders with his hands and kissed her lips, passionately.

She didn't retreat when Kili dropped his hands , so he hold her face with his hands and kissed her again: in her forehead, in her nose and finally in her mouth once more.

"I love you too" she whispered in his ears,after calming down her jumbled heart and hugging him.

Bofur and Bilbo just remained there, without knowing what to do or say,if they should interrupt or not.

"You are not going,are you?" Kili asked to her,anxiously.

"No,WE are not going anywhere" she said smiling at the hobbit,that seemed a little disturbed about what just happened.

"Wake up. Wake up!" Thorin demanded,something didn't seem right,did he see what just happened,or not?


	25. You Should See Me in a Crown

Merwra hugged Kili, for the first time in her life she felt loved back,it was the best feeling in the world,but also her weakness: she always cared too much for the people who didn't care for her,always giving her love to someone,without wanting anything back except acceptance and love,but her feelings were always ignored by the men she loved once.

But Kili was not a man.

She loved Kili since that night in the woods,when he gave his ring to her.

But she was too afraid of breaking her heart again,afraid of what her parents would think about it,and of what the other dwarves would think,especially Thorin.

A crack begun to run through the dark ground of the cave,interrupting Merwra's thoughts.

"Wake up!" Thorin shouted scared.

It was a trap.

Some of the dwarves that were still waking up were swallowed by the crack,that was getting bigger. Before they could run, Merwra ,Bilbo and all the others fell on the trap,slipping in the walls of a dark cave, into the very heart of that mountain.

When they finally hit the ground they saw a kind of city: there were small huts made of small twigs, torches illuminating the highest they could,with their light reveling more huts,stacked in the walls of the mountain, like parasites on a tree,trying to survive in the best way they were also pecrarious bridges linking the gorges,ladders of all sizes connecting platforms. And all that was a goblin town.

"Get back!" Thorin demanded as goblins were getting closer,curious about what fell on their trap.

Merwra quickly begun to run her fingers through the dark beads of her bracelet until finding one with a goblin carved on it; she took a last look in one of them and closed her eyes, mentalizing that disgusting creature.

As she opened her eyes she looked at her skin, it was pale and disgusting, wet and greasy, her legs were small and not proportional to her body, her head forced her back,letting her hump.

Merwra poked Kili's leg."Kili!" she whispered,trying to get his attention.

"Get your filthy hands out of me!" he demanded pointing his sword at her. "Shh, it's me Kili!",Merwra said trying not draw the attention to them.

"I have a plan,trust me." She said while trying to blend in with the other goblins.

"What are they?" some of the goblins asked curiously.

"Get away!" Thorin said once more, Merwra winked at him, she wasn't sure if he understood the sign or not.

"They're dwarves, I'm going to get them out, it was a mistake, where is the nearest exit by the way?" Merwra asked,trying to trick them.

"The Great Goblin doesn't need to see them before?" One of them asked

"No, everything is fine" She said nervously,she just noticed now that Gandalf wasn't there and neither was Bilbo.

"We should take them to him" the goblin insisted, she needed another plan;fast.

She followed the others through a sequence of narrow ladders, that lead to a kind of platform and to more ladders,finally arriving to a big platform, in the middle of it there was a giant,disgusting and revolting goblin.

"Who would be so bold as to come armed into my kingdom? Spies? Thieves? Assassins?" The Great Goblin said excited.

"Just dwarves, Your…." Merwra was trying to find the adequate word to call him "magnanimous" she said bowing to him." I prefer malevolence, or king" he said with his pitched voice, inadequate for the size of his body. "I need a crown,I know, but all this peasants just can't find one big enough to fit in my head! What kind of king doesn't have a crown?I need a crown! If you say that I'm magnanimous now honey, you should see me in a crown" he said with an almost singing voice, pointing at something in his head, Merwra thought that it was a part of his body,but actually it was a kind of a crown that was too tight for him,almost looking like a tiara.

"Right," She said interrupting him "It was a mistake,I'll lead them with the others to the exit"

" Wait!" he shouted pointing at Thorin with what looked like a scepter."Well, well, well, look who it is... Thorin, son of Thráin, son of Thrór. King under the mountain... You could get a crown for me!… Oh, but I'm forgetting, you don't have a mountain. And you're not a king. Which makes you... Nobody, really"

"I'll show them the way now" she insisted,her plan and disguise were falling apart.

"No you won't!" The Goblin said with a singing voice. "I know someone who would pay a pretty price for his head" he pointed at Thorin again." An old enemy of yours. A pale Orc astride a white warg…"

"Azog the Defiler was destroyed. He was slain in battle long ago!" Said Thorin,trying to let go from the goblins that were holding him.

"So you think his defiling days are done, do you? Send word to the pale Orc. Tell him I have found his prize!" The Goblin King said to Merwra,she didn't know what to do,should she attack him and compromise her plan or obey him?

"Actually, I think that you can say that yourself to him." Merwra said picking up her sword.

"How dare you!?" He said getting up "Step aside!" the goblin said hitting Merwra with his scepter.

A white light emerged from the darkness violently, blinding them, Merwra tried to cover her eyes,but she needed to know what it light was too strong,but she didn't give up, she stared at it and saw a man with a pointing hat. It had to be him,she knew it was him;Gandalf.

"NOW!" Gandalf shouted.


	26. Kili Laddershield

The dwarves understood the command: Merwra pierced the foot of the Great Goblin with her sword,causing him to scream with pain, Fili,Kili and Gandalf joined her, while the others picked their swords and started to kill the filthy goblins.

"I know that sword. It is the Goblin Cleaver! The Biter. The blade that sliced a thousand necks!" the King said pointing at Thorin's sword while he chopped the head of a goblin off.

"He wields the Foe-Hammer! The Beater! Bright as daylight!" the King said trying to protect himself from Gandalf's sword.

"And this is my friend the Perforator!" Merwra said piercing her sword on his foot once again,causing him to cry in pain.

"Kill them!Kill them all!" the King said furiously.

They were too many,the dwarves didn't have a chance,so they just ran for their lives,trying to find a way out.

"How are things turning out for you,my dear?" Kili asked to Merwra,while there was a break in the fight,apparently the goblins ran to help their King that was crying with his feet bleeding.

She only realized now that she was still in a goblin form,so she quickly hold the dwarf bead with her hand and closed her eyes,it was so natural to transform into a dwarf now,it was almost as if she wasn't a human anymore.

"Pretty good" she said as a dwarf once again,Kili smiled at her,he was enchanted by her and her power "Except that I do need some classes,as you suggested,maybe you could help me with it later?" she said kissing his cheek,what caused Bofur and Fili to giggle,they seemed happy just at opportunity of staring at the new couple,Merwra heard them whispering "I told you so" and "One true pairing", or something like it and giggling again,like little kids.

"Sure!Of course!" Kili said blushing a little.

An arrow came flying at their direction."Look out!" he said hugging Merwra to save her from the arrow that was aimed exactly at her direction.

"I didn't know that goblins practiced archery" Thorin said sarcastic,picking the arrow that was now laying on the floor and shooting it right back at the goblins that were now coming closer,hitting one in his eye.

"So what is the plan?" Fili asked joining the conversation.

"That is obvious…" said Gandalf drawing the attention to him "Run!"

And so they did,ran for their lives,trying to find an exit,jumping from platforms and going down with the help of the not very strong stairs,but the King appeared on their way.

"You think that is so simple? To escape from my kingdom? " he sarcastic asked "you will die down here and never be found,down in the deep of Goblin-town!" he added with a singing voice.

Thorin simply jumped aiming his stomach and cut it, while Merwra carved her sword in his other feet and Gandalf chopped his head off.

The Great Goblin King fell down ,they followed him with their eyes until he completely disappeared into the dark.

When the three were going to turn back the goblins were about to shot more arrows at them.

"Lay down!" screamed Kili, using a ladder as a shield.

"I don't think that it is a good idea ,boy" said Thorin,it was certain death,but he wouldn't stop Kili,so he did as Kili told ,just like Merwra and the others.

The goblins shot the arrows filled with anger and desire for revenge,the dwarves closed their eyes but quickly opened them again as they heard the sound of arrows penetrating something.

The ladder was filled with arrows,not a single one had hit the dwarves or Kili.

"Kili,are you alright?!" Both Merwra and Thorin asked at the exactly same time.

"Yes, I think…are you ?" He said surprised

"We are all in one piece" Gandalf informed "Follow me, quick. Run!" he said leading the way,apparently he found the way out, a passage between the rocks, showing a shy and small light, he used it for entering in the mountain.

"Only one thing will save us: daylight. Come on! Here, on your feet" he letting the dwarves pass in his front.

One by one they passed through it,meanwhile Merwra,Kili,Gandalf and Thorin were waiting for the others to go first,they didn't even realize that Bilbo wasn't with them.

"What you did back there was pretty impressive" Merwra said to Kili "I think that you found your name"

"Did I? " he asked laughing.

She heard a kind of whisper, or so she tought, because she decided to ignore it and continue the conversation.

"Kili Laddershield,it sounds very good to me" she answered him,but before he could say something Thorin interrupted:

"Laddershield, your turn now" he said laughing while pointing at the exit.

When they all passed through it and ran away from the mountain,knowing that they were safe,they stopped at the entrance of a forest. Gandalf started to check if everyone was there:

"Five, six, seven, eight... Bifur and Bofur, that's ten. Fili, Kili and Merwra, that's thirteen."

The exhausted Bombur came running in their direction.

"And Bombur, that makes 's fourteen. Wait,where is Bilbo?!"


	27. Where is Bilbo?

"Where's Bilbo? Where is our hobbit? Where is our hobbit!?" Gandalf Said worried.

"Curse the halfling ! Now he's lost? I thought he was with Dori!"said Glóin.

"Don't blame me!" Dori protested "The last time I saw him he was with Merwra!"

All of them stared at Merwra, she was desperate,what if he got lost? Or worst, what if the goblins killed him? She didn't want to think about it ,she wanted to think that he was safe,just lost,that he would find the way out. But that mean voice in her head kept telling her that it was her fault,that she lost him,that she was too worried about saving the dwarves that didn't even thought about Bilbo.

Bilbo protected her since the day they met, he became a kind of father to her,he shouldn't be dead,she always thought that if one day he died she would feel it in her heart. But for now her heart was fine,but there it was again, that little annoying voice in her head,taking over her thoughts,making her cry.

"What happened exactly? Tell me." Said Kili hugging her. Merwra didn't answered though, just cried.

"I'll tell you what happened." Said Thorin ,putting his hand in her shoulder trying to comfort her,what made her look at him. "Master Baggins saw his chance and he took it. He's thought of nothing but his soft bed and his warm hearth since first he stepped out of his door. We will not be seeing our hobbit again."but it only made her feel worst "He is long gone." Merwra just stared at him,she was angry,she knew that Bilbo wouldn't do that,would he?

"No, he isn't!" Bilbo said,appearing out of the blue.

"Bilbo Baggins. I've never been so glad to see anyone in my life!" Said Gandalf smiling.

"Bilbo. We'd given you up!" Kili said letting Merwra go from the hug.

"How on earth did you get past the goblins?" Fili asked intrigued as Merwra stopped crying and hugged Bilbo so tight that left him breathless "Don't ever do that again!"she said "Never!" Merwra kissed his cheek.

He wanted to tell them,but he had already decided that he wouldn't. They didn't had to know about where he was,with who he was,and specially about what he found there. But as he looked deep in Merwra's eyes he felt that he needed to tell her. Maybe he would,later,he thought.

"Well, what does it matter? He's back." She said standing at Kili's side again and holding his hand.

"It matters! I want to know. Why did you come back?" Thorin protested.

"Look, I know you doubt me.I know you always have. And you're right, I often think of Bag-End. I miss my books! And my armchair, and my garden. See, that's where I belong, that's home. And that's why I came back, because you don't have one. A home. It was taken from you, but I will help you take it back if I can." Bilbo explained. " And I could not leave Merwra alone with you!" he said laughing "Especially with you!" he said pointing at Kili, that quickly let go of Merwra's hand, causing everyone to laugh.

"I've heard that you were "braiding" together, we'll discuss this later, Merwra"he seemed to be a little more serious this time,but they all laughed again. That was until they heard familiar howls:

wargs.


	28. A familiar face

A warg pack emerged in the horizon.

"Not again!" said Merwra.

"Out of the frying pan-" said Thorin "And into the fire!" Gandalf completed.

"Run! Run!" Kili said taking Merwra's hand,it was too late for her to transform into a warg,they would see her changing.

They ran into the forest as fast as they could,but had to stop when they reached the edge of an abyss, there was only one thing they could do .

"Up into the trees, all of you!" commanded Gandalf " Come on, climb!" He said again.

"They're coming!" Thorin said conflicted if he should stay and fight or climb a tree."Go first, I will try to slow them down" he said to the others as they passed by him,including Merwra and Kili,that decided to stop.

"Me too!" Said Kili,joining his side.

"No Kili, take care of her,she can't lose you." Thorin whispered to Kili while Merwra saw that Bilbo was struggling to climb a tree and ran to help him.

"Kili, can you help me get Bilbo up?" She screamed near a tree,while Bilbo managed to put a leg on a branch,just like Bombur,that was helped by Bifur and Bofur.

"Sure" Kili said running at her direction. "Here Mister Baggins" he said getting on his knees. "get on my back"

"Well, this is embarrassing"said Bilbo stepping on Kili's back and finally managing to sit in the branch.

"Your turn" Kili said to Merwra.

"There is no problem I can to this by myse-"

She stopped when heard the sound of the heavy claws of the wargs getting closer, Thorin and Gandalf killed some of them , but the others were coming fast,there were more than Merwra could remember.

"You know what,I could use a little help" She said scared,Kili laughed nervously and offered his back again.

"Now it's your turn"Merwra said offering her hand,that Kili used as a lift to get on the branch as well. The others seemed to have managed well the situation, Fili was in a higher branch of the same tree,trying to help Bilbo get there,although they all knew that they would have to think about another plan soon,maybe Gandalf had already one.

Gandalf!Kili remembered that he was still there fighting wargs,with Thorin.

"Thorin,Gandalf! Come!" He shouted at them,that ran as fast as they could.

That was when an enormous pale warg,comparing to the others, arose with an orc of the same color mounted on it. Kili and Merwra stayed frozen with their mouths wide open, both knew whom he was.

"Faster!"Kili shouted at them desperately,what made Thorin want to look back,but when he was about to turn his head Merwra shouted: "Don't look back! Just run!"

And so they did,managing to get safe on the branch. Thorin looked at that orc:

His skin was as pale as the moon,his eyes blood-red,he had a hook instead of his left hand-that was cut out by Thorin,many years ago when he was a young dwarven prince,in Erebor- and deep scars all over his chest,arms and head.

That distinguished orc was Azog.

He said something in orcish,although they didn't understand most it, the words :"Thorin, son of Thráin" were easily recognized.

Thorin wanted to jump on him,but was pulled back by Gandalf and Kili. The pale orc just laughed, a deep and malevolent laugh that caused shivers in everyone, he wanted to enjoy it, he wanted to make his revenge last,enjoy every second of it,killing the last Durin' heir and who else he could.


	29. The Plans

Azog quickly demanded a fire to get started, he already had a plan. Fortunately so did Gandalf: the eagles were their best chance.

Merwra should transform into one and warn the eagles that would surely help them."Remember , if you mention my name they will not think twice before coming to rescue us." Gandalf said to her.

Merwra agreed of course and when Azog and his kin came close to the bonfire she saw the perfect chance for her. They made a circle around the fire, Azog probably was explaining what they were going to do,his warg muttered something as well,in the terrible language of the wargs. Gandalf understood every word but the dwarves and Bilbo didn't,but it sounded terrible,as if the whole talk was about evil and death,and it indeed was.

Merwra hesitated for a moment,she grabbed the bead that had an eagle carved on it with her hand and stared at Kili and Bilbo for a moment,the plan was simple:fly in the direction of the closest mountain,one of the eagles should be there and could help them,how Gandalf didn't explain,but Merwra trusted in him.

While changing her heart seemed to stop for a minute, her arms stretched until they become wings and her feet became claws. She contained a scream,but not the tears when the feathers started to perforate and rip her skin. Kili and Bilbo kept staring at her concerned as her face changed completely, her nose and mouth gave place to a beak and her hair transformed into brownish feathers , only the eyes convinced them that it was still Merwra.

She had to go now, the orcs seemed to have lit up torches, the wargs were howling furiously. It was her moment , she had to jump. Merwra swung her wings up and down,stared at the horizon and released her claws from the branch, diving in the abyss, disappearing as if the darkness had swallowed her. Merwra was falling quickly, she tried to open one of her wings but it made her turn violently to the left hitting the the rock wall of the abyss, the rocks scathed her skin. Merwra tried to open both wings now and finally found balance, the wind blew beneath her lifting her wings, she emerged from the darkness.

Bilbo,Gandalf and the dwarves that knew about the plan started to celebrate, but remembered that they needed to control their happiness, the orcs couldn't discover their plan. They stared at her disappearing in the horizon,she was they didn't stay happy for to long, because Azog too had started the first phase of his plan : set the trees on fire.


	30. Are we near, Gwaihir?

Flying was better than the way Merwra had imagined in her dreams: the wind blowing in her face and breezes licking her . The wings ,that was what Merwra liked the most: the control that she had over them, how a flutter of the wings could make her float in the air , so effortless. It was so quiet, so peaceful.

She closed her eyes for a minute, she was so opened them again,she couldn't sleep, she had to keep flying until finding another eagle that could help her. But the temptation was so strong…"just for a few minutes" she thought, "I won't sleep,I'll just rest my eyes" She closed her eyes again."Just for a few minutes..."

But then she lost the control over her wings and began to fall quickly,when Merwra was about to hit a tree she woke up and managed to fly away,what caught the attention of another eagle,that flew to her direction.

"Where are you going?" the eagle with black feathers and green eyes asked Merwra,she didn't see he coming quietly between the trees.

"Hello! I need your help! My friends need help! The wargs and the orcs are attacking them in the woods and Gandalf said that you could help us We need to get more help! Where can we talk to the others? We need to-" The eagle interrupted her,she was talking too fast,and it was difficult to talk and fly at the same time.

"Calm down! " he said to her flying by her side,it was strange,she was clearly unskilled,but was old enough to know how to fly,so why she seemed so odd? "Let's land over there and you can explain to me what is going on" he said looking at the rocks of a nearby hill.

As they landed Merwra explained the situation again. Fortunately the eagle was about to go check a fire that have started where the company of Thorin Oakenshield was, when Merwra mentioned Gandalf the eagle knew that they needed to warn his master.

"We need to go now, we are not far " The eagle said taking off followed by Merwra.

If the circumstances were others Merwra would have enjoyed more the sunset,she was too nervous and anxious to appreciate the clouds that painted the sky with orange, golden, rose and red colors with the orange sun going down.

"I'm sorry,but I don't remember if I have asked what's your name…" the eagle said after a long time of silence.

"You can call me Merwra"she said to him ,maybe she could have said her real name,but it was better to continue with "Merwra". "And what's yours?" she asked being polite "Gwaihir" he answered

"Are we near, Gwaihir?" Merwra asked impatient, but he didn't had to answer ,he only stared at the horizon,and that was when Merwra saw the mountains, a chain of mountains.


	31. The Lord of the Eagles

The view was something Merwra would never see again: mountains with green and yellow grass intercalated, contrasting with the orange sky.

"We have arrived" Gwaihir said leading the way passing over a small waterfall that formed a river which divided the chain of mountains in two.

He started to fly closer to a specific large mountain where other eagles were gathered."We will land there" he said guiding Merwra,that slowly reduced her speed. Gwaihir landed gracefully, while Merwra stumbled in her left claw and hit her head on the ground, drawing the attention to her,that quickly stood up and followed Gwaihir,luckily he was the only one with black feathers ,what made him easy to track.

There were two eagles with brownish feathers guarding a eagle that was in the middle of them. This particularly eagle was tall and svelte, conspicuously more important than the others. Gwaihir checked if Merwra was following him after her humiliating landing and then,when he spotted her, He walked in the direction of the majestic eagle and did a kind of measure. They talked something that Merwra didn't had the chance to hear , Gwaihir looked at her, his eyes seemed to be saying to her to get closer.

She tried to do the same measure that Gwaihir did and approached the svelte eagle . Being closer to him made Merwra notice how the beak of that important eagle possessed a kind of golden color, his feathers were in a different shade of brown with black tips,his eyes were even more intriguing, they had the exactly same color as honey.

"Gwaihir was telling me about a fire in the forest that you witnessed, is it true?" he asked staring at Merwra as she tried to show respect:

"Yes, mister,king,si-" he interrupted her: "You may address to me as Lord" surprised that she didn't know who he was.

"Yes,my lord" she replied "I'm a member of Thorin Oakenshield's company,alongside Gandalf and we need your help right no-"

"Did you say Gandalf?"The Lord of the eagles interrupted again, he clearly knew the wizard that Merwra was talking about.

"Yes! We were surrounded by an orc pack,we quickly climbed the trees,but they were going to set the forest on fire! Gandalf said that I should get help from the eagles, they don't have much time,we need your help!"

Merwra knew that eagles were not very friendly, some were even cruel, but these were the eagles of the ancient race of the northern mountains,the most haughty,strong and noble eagles among the others, they were the only ones that could help her.

With a curious look the lord stared at Merwra for a moment,there was something very strange about her but he didn't know what it was. After a minute thinking he finally broke the tense silence saying decided: "Lead the way"


	32. I Sometimes Save the Day

"Listen!" the Lord demanded attention, "Gandalf is in trouble, a orc pack joined forces with wargs and they will set our forest on fire! I summon each one of you to help them,you just need to follow this lady" he said looking at Merwra. " When we needed help Gandalf helped us, it has come the time to pay our debt" All the piercing eyes were focused on Merwra,Gwaihir and his lord. "We need to show to these orcs that wargs will not keep them save from us!" The others eagles agreed with their heads."You'll lead us" he said whispering to Merwra.

She was the first one to take off, she was a little nervous that it would be as pathetic as her landing. Merwra walked to the edge of the flat rock, took a deep breath and jumped ,disappearing. The other eagles got scared for a minute, "She disappeared, she simply jumped!" the Lord of the eagles said, clearly it wasn't the standard take off procedure .

She fell for some seconds trying to flutter before finally managing to stabilize her wings,appearing in the sky, what made the others breath relieved. "There is something really different about her…" Gwaihir said before following her.

The Lord simply widely opened his wings, the wind blew in them and lifted him softly .The other eagles followed them,there was not a single one that decided to stay ,they all wanted to help.

As the sky turned dark and the moon took the place of the soon Merwra knew that they needed to go faster, her left wing started to hurt ,only now she remembered of the wounds that she made on that rocks when she flew for the first time. It wasn't hurting before,probably because of the adrenaline,but now it was starting to.

She tried to ignore the pain,she started to think about Kili and the others,but especially Kili, "what if we arrive too late? What if they were already dead?" that evil voice inside her head said.

This thoughts hurt more than the physical pain. She started to fly faster,she could see the forest on fire for the eagles have piercing eyes and can see things from a great distance. Merwra could see something on fire flying and hitting the wargs on their heads and hear their desperate howls. The eagles started to fly in circles getting down very quietly and slowly.

Merwra saw that all the dwarves,Bilbo and Gandalf were in the same tree now,throwing flaming pinecones at the wargs,probably Gandalf's idea...Though they were managing to survive,the tree was hanging only by its roots that insisted to remain attached to the ground,what Azog noticed too. He screamed something that Merwra didn't understand ,but sounded very threatening,as if he was calling someone.

One of the dwarves ran in Azog's direction,without minding about the fire ,just running and screaming with a sword in his hand. Merwra would recognize that powerful voice anywhere:it was Thorin.

Azog was mounted on his pale warg,and when Thorin was about to embed his sword in him the warg jumped,hitting Thorin in the face with its paw. Azog laughed mischievously, when Thorin was almost managing to stand up the warg grabbed him with his mouth-not in the same way that Merwra once did to save Ori and Kili- to perforate his body with its teeth. The pale warg threw Thorin against a rock,Azog walked in Thorin's direction with a sword in his hand,Thorin stood there without moving a single muscle.

Merwra saw the panic look in the dwarves' faces,she felt her blood rushing and her heart racing,she stretched her wings back and without thinking about her safety dived speedily in the direction of the warg , opening her claws and grabbing the pale warg which was howling in despair. Merwra flew with it in her claws and tossed the warg into the abyss.

All the eyes were focused on her,but quickly stared at Bilbo when he ran in the direction of a warg that was grunting and getting closer to Thorin,who was still laying on the floor,confused about what was going on. Bilbo screamed and pierced his sword in the head of the warg,killing it. After a moment processing what just happened the eagles and the dwarves attacked.

Wargs were being thrown in the abyss by eagles,orcs were being killed by dwarves .That was when the Lord of the eagles' plan started,one of the eagles grabbed Gandalf with its claws and tossed him in the abyss,but quickly Gwaihir appeared beneath him and Gandalf landed on his back.

The other eagles started to do the same,except for Merwra,that gently grabbed Thorin with her claws and started to follow the other eagles. She saw Fili and Kili on the back of an eagle,Gandalf with Gwaihir,Bofur and Bifur in another,and the poor eagle that had to carry Bombur. There were many other eagles coming with more dwarves.

They were all safe.


	33. You killed Merwra!

The route to the mountains seemed to be longer than Merwra remembered,maybe because of the darkness that seemed to propagate in the skies, at one point it didn't seem that she was flying,but that the night was passing below her.

She looked down and saw Thorin in her claws.

He had not moved since the battle ,probably he was still unconscious. Unfortunately Azog escaped, Merwra lost his track when she helped Thorin,at least his pale warg was dead now.

Fili and Kili were on the back of an eagle that was flying beside her. Fili was a afraid of heights, more than he demonstrated. Kili on the other hand was loving the feeling and often looked at Merwra puzzled,wondering who she really was, that dwarf of many names…

When they finally arrived the sun was raising on the horizon,casting the night and the fear,but not Merwra's wounds,they were hurting more than before,but she didn't stop.

The eagles landed on the flat rock of the tallest mountain,placing all the dwarves ,Gandalf and Bilbo carefully on it. Merwra was the last one to arrive,she gently putted Thorin on the ground and landed properly,not more like a gangling had changed,the eagles looked at her differently now,she had shown them her prowess and courage,she earned their respect.

That is why the eagles were so surprised and confused when she transformed into a dwarf,when her feathers disappeared and her wings turned into arms,her beak gave place to a nose and her claws to legs. Only the eyes were still the same.

The eyes and her wounds.

"That explains a lot…" Gwaihir whispered to the Lord of the Eagles, both perplexed.

Merwra ran towards Kili,hugging him tight,what made him hug her even tighter.

She felt safe,and only let him go when she saw that Thorin was awake.

"The Halfling? The eagle?" Thorin asked disoriented while standing up.

"It's all right,Bilbo and Merwra are here,they're quite safe." Gandalf said calling both,that sighted in relief coming closer to him.

"You!" Thorin said between clenched teeth ,pointing at Merwra,that felt a shiver running through her spine.

"You were the eagle!What were you doing!?You nearly got yourself killed!" He said with a tight-lipped smile."And you!" he now pointed at Bilbo ," Did I not say that you would be a burden? That you would not survive in the Wild?" he stared at both of them. Kili was about to interfere,but Fili stood in his way.

"That both of you had no place amongst us?!" He shouted,Merwra was about to cry,she couldn't believe that after all she did to save him he could say those thing to her and Bilbo,who risked his life to protect Thorin's.

Thorin expression changed drastically to a mysterious smile , Merwra thought the he would kill her as he leaned forward"I have never been so wrong in all my life!" he said opening his arms embracing Merwra and Bilbo,that stood still for a moment, confused and scared,before giving in to his hug breathing relieved.

"Loyalty" Thorin whispered in Bilbo's ears. " A willing heart" he whispered in Merwra's before pulling the hug apart "You have shown that to me" he said smiling at them as the dwarves celebrated.

He hugged Merwra again "I will never forget what you did for me" he said to,causing her to smile proudly and hug him tighter "and what you did with Kili in that cave" he whispered,Merwra started to blush "You are good to him" he said before letting her go again,she was feeling embarrassed and happy at the same time.

"I am sorry I doubted you." Thorin said regretfully "both of you".

"No, I would have doubted me too." Bilbo said laughing.

" I never thought that I could have a second family,but here you are" Merwra said pointing at them "I have a place in my heart for every single one of you" she complemented,staring at their eyes. Merwra walked towards Kili,ignoring the pain that she was feeling,her wounds were hidden in the layers of cloth."I love you" she said smiling and kissing him at the same time.

That was the last thing she would remember before fainting and hitting the ground violently.

"He killed her!" Ori screamed scared,apparently he didn't know what a kiss was.

"Merwra!" Kili shouted,standing on his knees."Wake up" he said shaking her arms "Wake up!" his voice disappeared between his tears as he saw the blood on his hands.

Kili stared at her sleeve frightened.

"What is this?" he said in shock,lifting the sleeve of her left arm,revealing the deep wounds.

"You killed her!" Ori continued to scream.

"You killed Merwra!"


	34. I was KISSING her!

"You killed her!" Ori continued to scream,making all the eagles getting closer to see what was happening.

"No, I didn't" Kili said with his quietly,staring at Merwra,she was still breathing,slowly and quietly.

"Yes you did!" Ori said " You swallowed her soul! I saw it!". Thorin hid his reaction behind his hands, which raised toward his face,he could not believe on what Ori was saying.

Kili tried to ignore Ori, but at one point he couldn't even concentrate on his own thoughts,so he stood up furiously: "Can't you control yourself?!" he clenched his fists ,"I was KISSING her!" Kili leaned towards him and when he rose his fist staring at Ori; Fili and Thorin hold his arms. Ori was so scared, he never saw Kili like that,it wasn't his fault that he never kissed someone! Kili started to cry, if it was because of range , sadness or regret he didn't know, he just wanted his girl back on his arms,and when he finally got her,she fainted.

He quickly kneeled by Merwra's side again,Gandalf and Bilbo joined him to examine her injuries: her skin was torn apart,her wounds were deep,there was blood all over her shoulder, but at least she had not broken a bone.

"We should take her back" Gandalf suggested, "back to her home" he looked at the eagles "Gwaihir,could you take her to Gondor?"

Before letting Gwaihir say something Kili protested,"She will not go anywhere"

Thorin said determined : "She is family,and we don't leave family behind"

"I'm not going anywhere without her" Bilbo added. They all agreed,they couldn't just leave her.

"You can help her Gandalf,she will stay here with me,and you'll save her" Kili commanded "I know you can"

"She lost much blood" Gandalf said apprehensive.

"Can you heal her?Can you awake her?"Bilbo asked worried. Gandalf placed his hand on her forehead,saying incomprehensible words, Merwra 's wounds were cured, but only a part of them,the wound stopped bleeding and her skin was regenerating fast.

"Merwra?"Kili said shaking her right arm,but she didn't say a word, her breathing returned to the normal rhythm.

"That is only what I can do for now, her wounds are slowly healing, and she needs to rest.I still think that needs help , in a city they will look after her …"Gandalf tried to convince them, although he knew it was useless.

"We will look after her Gandalf" Kili said,no one was going to change his mind.

"We know about a safe place not far from here, where you can stay as long as you need" the Lord of the Eagles said kindly.

"Who?"Gandalf asked intrigued.

"He was the one who did the steps on this rock,the carrock,that's how he calls it."The Lord said showing the well worn path with many steps on the side of the flat rock, that lead down to the river .

"Beorn!?" Gandalf asked surprised,for what the eagle responded assenting with his head. "Yes,how could I forget about him? He lives very close from here and will surely help her ." Gandalf happily said after remembering about his old friend.

"So that is where we are going" Thorin said,assuming the normal position of leader of the company.

"We can leave you on the ground if you want,to save time" The Lord said ,"but we can't take you there,for we have urgent matters to discuss". All of them agreed,soon 15 eagles gently dropped them on the ground,Bilbo was on the back of Gwaihir,that was carrying Merwra on his claws.

When the dwarves,Gandalf and Bilbo were all safe on the ground, near the river ,Gwaihir opened his claws and gently placed Merwra in Kili's arms.

"Farewell!" the eagles cried, "wherever you fare,till your eyries receive you at the journey's end!" That is the polite thing to say among eagles.

"May the wind under your wings bear you where the sun sails and the moon walks",answered Gandalf,who knew the correct reply.

Kili walked still holding Merwra in his arms; Thorin, Fili and even Bilbo offered help,but Kili didn't accept,he liked the feeling of holding her in his arms,to protect her...Kili stared at here blank face,she seemed to be getting better,then gazed upon her hands... A mad and wonderful idea crossed his mind when he saw the ring he gave to Merwra on a finger of her right hand…


	35. Is this Heaven?

They walked for some hours before stopping by the river. The sunlight was passing through the trees and a refreshing breeze was blowing in their faces. Kili gently putted Merwra on the ground leaning her against a tree,he stared at her for a moment ,worried.

Gandalf noticed his concern: "She'll wake up soon" he said placing his hand on Kili's shoulder."I'll look for something to make her feel better when she wakes up" the wizard said. "You all need to make yourselves presentable to Beorn, I strongly suggest a bath in the river…" he said to them while entering in the woods.

The dwarves stayed quiet for a moment, not knowing if Gandalf was serious or not,especially Thorin. Bofur and Bombur looked at each other with a playful look and quickly started to remove their shoes,belts,weapons and coats,staying only with their pants and shirts on before running towards the river,that was shallow and clear,stony at the ford.

The others didn't wait for one more minute to do the same,running happily to the river,even Thorin seemed relieved to finally rest. All of them except for Kili and Bilbo,that stayed by Merwra's side,watching the others having fun.

"I think that you need a bath too" the hobbit said to Kili.

"No,I'm fine" he said still staring at Merwra.

"You should,you know, you're sticking" Bilbo said laughing.

"Thank you Mr. Boggins" Kili answered teasing him, giggling.

"It's Baggins,Kili, with an a…"he corrected the dwarf."I'll look after her,you don't need to worry."

"Are you sure?" Kili asked "If she wakes up you will call me,agreed?"

"Absolutely" Bilbo answered "Now go".

Kili removed his coat,belt and shoes and joined the other dwarves,that were splashing water in each other.

Bilbo stayed by Merwra's side until Kili came back,and then took a quick bath, Kili wasn't the only one who was sticking.

The dwarf sat in front of her and placed the corner of the sleeve of his soaked blue shirt in Merwra's forehead,removing the grime. The refreshing sensation woke her up.

Merwra slowly opened her eyes ,trying to adjust with the lightness of the sun,that was drawing Kili's outline. The first thing she saw was the movement on the river.

"Is this heaven?" she asked still trying to focus in shape in front of her,hearing the laughs of the dwarves.

"What?! No,it's me,Kili!" he said giggling.

"Kili!" she repeated his name hugging him tight. Unfortunately she had to stop when her shoulder started to ache.

"You're soaked!" she said leaning on the tree and looking at her shoulder,nearly healed, but the pain didn't want to go away.

"Sorry!" Kili said," Gandalf told me that he would bring something to make you feel better" he explained.

"Good" she answered,trying to ignore the pain."Where are we?" Merwra asked curiously analyzing the surroundings,the dwarves were laughing and fighting in the water. "We'll visit someone called Beorn,Gandalf said that he could help us ,and mostly you." He comforted her,that was laughing staring at the dwarves playing like little children.

"Is that Bilbo?" she asked giggling staring at the hobbit that was splashing water on Fili's face,now only some dwarves were still in the river,the others were laying on the grass,apparently drying their clothes. "Oh,Gandalf said that we should take a bath,to look more presentable…" Merwra immediately stared at her,she was covered with grime,dirt and dried blood on her left arm.

"I should join them,I look awful!" she said trying to stand up with Kili's help,her legs were dormant.

Bilbo saw her standing up and quickly ran to her direction "Merwra!" he said happily dripping wet ,"how are you feeling?"

"Better, I suppose" she answered smiling when finally managed to stand up.

"Come with me, we need to clean your arm or it will get infected,and we don't want that ,do we?!" the hobbit grabbed her hand to support her while she was removing her shoes.

"That's fine,I can help her" Kili said.

"No lad,you did enough, I want to help her now" Bilbo insisted when Merwra was dressing only a blue shirt and brown pants. He led her to the river slowly

"You know what?I'm starting to like that dwarf..." Bilbo said to her when they arrived at the margin.


	36. You,liking Kili?

"You,liking Kili?" Merwra asked perplexed,letting a giggle come out. "What happened when I was unconscious?" she said while cleaning her arms with the water of the river.

"Well, he carried you in his arms the whole way till here!"Bilbo explained " Thorin volunteered,Fili volunteered,even I did! But he insisted…"

"He did?" Merwra asked smiling at Kili,that was still leaned on the tree taking a nap,he looked exhausted."Are going to tell him?" the hobbit asked, "about what you are?He deserves to know,I think he really loves you"

Merwra stayed quiet for some time,she cleaned her arms,legs,hair and even removed the dirt from her clothes. Of couse she wanted to tell him ,but she was afraid,what if he didn't like mankind? What if it he didn't love her as a human,only as Merwra,the dwarf? But she knew that Bilbo was right,he needed to know,he deserved the truth.

Bilbo was on the riverside,staring at his feet that were dipped in the water,drawing circles in it with his toes... Bilbo missed his home,the fireplace,the books and the food,mostly the food.

Merwra was already clean and saw the perfect opportunity to cheer him up,she filled her hands with the crystalline water and before Bilbo could react, she threw the water on him,that stared at his now soaked coat.

"You wanna play?" he said getting in the water with a wicked smile. "Let's play then" he kicked the surface of the water, the drops landed on Merwra's face. She retaliated creating a small wave with her arms"Now you are feeling better, aren't you?" she said during a moment of truce.

"Says the dwarf with a wounded arm" he teased.

Bilbo and Merwra continued to play, spattering water in the dwarves that were trying to dry their clothes close to the river. Both thought that the dwarves were going to get mad at them,but instead, they started to laugh,waking Kili up,that started to laugh as well. Merwra recognized his voice and quickly looked at Kili's direction, seeing a gray pointy hat emerging from the labyrinth of pine trees.

She ran at his encounter, hopefully he had found something."Merwra!" Gandalf said surprised to see her coming soaked,followed by Bilbo. "Good to see that you're awake! I brought something for you"

"What is that?" Merwra asked intrigued,staring at a kind of strange beige paste. "It's a sedative,Radagast thought me how to do it once,it consists of leaves,mushrooms,bird's dung and-" Merwra interrupted him "I think that it's better if I don't know" she said picking an amount of the paste with her finger,passing in her wound carefully."You need to leave it in your skin until it dries,it should make you feel better and help the cicatrization."Gandalf explained.

When the dwarves had dried in the sun,again, Bilbo thought about questioning Gandalf if he shouldn't have bath as well, but preferred to stay with his mouth shut. They felt refreshed,ready to continue their quest,although they also felt hungry.

The company matched through the long green grass and between the pine trees and oaks following Gandalf.


	37. Beorn

Merwra almost forgot that she was on a dangerous mission,the weather was lovely-just a bit too hot for her-,the pain in her arm was almost gone and she had Kili,who was holding her hand secretly wondering why the name Gondor seemed so familiar. That was the adventure that she always wanted,Merwra was feeling heroic now,just like her favorite characters from the books of the palace where she lived-and hated-.

The palace;it seemed just a dream,a distant memory that she wished to forget. Merwra wondered if her parents missed her just like she missed them, they knew how she liked to explore and learn different things and never forbid her to do what she loved; that is what she most admired on them,how they could trust on her. She knew about some cousins that could never leave their parent's side,and even some that had tried to run away.

She got lost in her thoughts for some time,unsure if she missed the palace or not..."So,who is Beorn?" Merwra asked Gandalf .

"He is a very great person" he said emphasizing on the word 'person' ,"You must all be very polite when I introduce you." He said louder so everyone could hear him."I shall introduce you two by two,I think; and you must be careful not to annoy him, or heaven knows what will happen…" he said worried.

Merwra wasn't satisfied with the answer,and felt curious by the fact that the so called Beorn was a human. "But how is he like?" she insisted.

"Well…" the wizard said trying to find the right words "He is very strong ,and he is a skin-changer,very much like you Merwra"

"Skin-changer!?" she asked even more curious "He can change to what,exactly?"

"Sometimes he's a huge black bear,sometimes he is a great strong black-haired man. He lives in an oak-wood house and keeps bees and its hives,he also keeps cattle and horses which are nearly as marvelous as himself,they work for him and talk to him. As a bear he ranges far and wide.I once saw him standing all alone on the top of the Carrock at night…" Gandalf finished Beorn's description and wasn't willing to talk more about him,so Merwra and the others decided to stay quiet,they had plenty to think about.

It was the middle of the afternoon,they sometimes rested under the trees before continuing the journey,the hunger was a great motivator to keep them a while they passed a belt of tall and ancient oaks before finally stopping.

"You must wait here" Gandalf commanded; "and when I call or whistle begin to come after me,but only in pairs,about five minutes between each pair of you, expect for Bombur, that better come alone and last" he explained " Come on Mr Baggins! There is a gate somewhere near" He said taking the frightened hobbit with him to a wooden gate ,before anyone could question him or his plan.

They did as Gandalf said and watched the wizard and the hobbit disappear,getting closer to the house and drawing the attention of some horses...


	38. The Shape shifter & The Skin-changer

"Gandalf is acting a bit odd today,isn't he Kili?" Merwra asked intrigued,but Kili ignored her. " I think that he secretly wanted to take a bath as well" she said trying to make him laugh,but Kili still didn't react. She had no idea of what he was thinking about ,maybe he was just tired…So she left him with his thoughts and listened to something that Thorin was saying, apparently he wanted to go first, no one objected , so when they heard a shrill whistle he passed through the wooden gate towards the house.

Thorin was followed by Ori and Dori, Bifur and Bofur,Dwalin and Balin, Fili and Nori and Oin with Gloin. Now only Merwra,Kili and Bombur were waiting for their turn.

Kili was still quiet,he seemed concerned and very focused,Merwra didn't say anything just sat by his side.

"City of men!" he shouted standing up,he realized that he said that out loud and sat again,trying to look normal while staring at Merwra puzzled. He knew that she wasn't a hobbit,elf,dwarf,warg,orc or an eagle , and that Gondor was the city of men...There was only one option left,or so he thought. Kili wasn't the smartest of the dwarves,he didn't know all the names of the creatures that habited middle-earth,but maybe the few options helped him after all.

"I think it's our turn now…" he said holding Merwra's hand,unsure if he was right or wrong about her real nature.

They walked towards the door exactly like the others,when Beorn opened it,both bowed at the same time introducing themselves to the strange man.

"A couple? Are they a couple?" Beorn shouted to Gandalf,that was in a sort of veranda with the others, "You said sixteen but I'm only seeing fifteen!" apparently the wizard was telling their story to the man.

"Yes,Merwra is the shape shifter I told you about and Kili is- " Gandalf started to explain,but Beorn interrupted him. "So ,this is the only female dwarf ? Interesting, I thought that dwarves just sprang out of holes in the ground!" he was the only one who laughed, Thorin seemed to be very offended by the foolish comment,Merwra and Kili just smiled at them,not sure of what they should do."But wait,she doesn't smell like a dwarf…she smells like…like… an eagle?No ,no a hobbit...There is still something different,something very familiar... "Beorn tried to find the right words as Merwra felt a chill ran down her spine and Kili's hands began to sweat,he couldn't control himself anymore, he had to say it,he had to know.

"She is human" Kili shouted. Merwra and the others looked surprised at him,for how long did he know?

He stopped short, and wondered what on earth he had meant to say next."You are human right?" he said worried.

"Yes,yes I am,but how -when did you find out?"

"Well, a man once said that 'When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth' "Kili explained.

"When did you become so clever?" Ori asked suspiciously,but no one gave attention to him,they were all focused on the strange couple.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell to you before,I was waiting for the right moment …" Merwra said to the dwarves,not sure if they had a disapproval look on their faces or not. "Do you still care for me?" she whispered scared to Kili, that answered with "Do you remember the first day we met?When you were Primula,the hobbit that lived with Bilbo?" she just nodded with her head. Of course she remembered,she was so confused to see all those dwarves invading Bag End,and how he was different from the others,how he trusted and loved her since the first day…

"I don't care what you are or what is your real name, I never did! I only care if I can still call you mine"Kili leaned towards her and gently kissed her lips,he didn't had to ask.

"What is that?" Beorn protested " Are you two just going to stay by my door kissing? At least come inside!I want to see the rest of your story,specially about you young shape shifter lady,I want to hear everything that you have to say about this" he pointed at Merwra , that sat with the others.

Bombur refused to wait five minutes,he appeared at the door ,trying to understand why they all had a surprised look on their faces.

"Well,now there are sixteen of you;perhaps we can finish this story without any more interruptions"Beorn said impatiently.


	39. Merwra's Tale

"A very good tale!" Beorn said as Gandalf finished telling their journey so far and their goal. Beorn agreed to provide food and comfortable beds for the company, but only if Merwra told her story as well.

"Now I's your turn young lady" He said looking at the human,who seemed a bit surprised." I need to know your story if you want to stay in my house…"

"Fine then,where do I begin ?" She said a little apprehensive.

"Begin with the begging of course!" Gandalf suggested.

"Right." She said putting her thoughts together. "As you now know, I live in Gondor with my father Addraran,one of the four lords of Gondor, and with my mother Cadiliniel…"

"So you are a lady!" Kili said excited,Merwra didn't quite know why.

"Yes,I live in a palace but I have freedom,my parents understand my needs;which is why as promised, on my birthday they let me go on a journey ,a journey where I would visit and experience all that middle-earth could offer before returing to help my dad to rule Gondor. They had all planed,I was going to stay three months as a hobbit, another three as an elf and so on,getting in touch with them by letters.

We contacted a wizard from the Greenwood named Radagast, who made this bracelet for me-that is what allows me to shape shift.

When on an ordinary day living in Hobbiton, Gandalf and the dwarves –that were soon going to become the best friends I ever had- appeared,they were going on an adventure and needed Bilbo as their burglar.I couldn't miss this opportunity that literally knocked on our door,neither could Bilbo. It would be an adventure that I would never have a chance to experience once back at Gondor. We were both unsure and scared but also felt the need to come along.

When I met Kili,he was different from anyone that I have ever met,not because of the fact that he is a dwarf , but for how he talked to me,how he looked at me and didn't care that I was a hobbit and that he was a dwarf;he was the first who looked at my heart and not at my appearance,that's when I knew I loved him"She stopped for a moment,surprised at how they all seemed to understand her:Thorin didn't seem to care at all about her being human,Fili and Bofur had a sympathetic smile on their faces,not to mention Kili that was tenderly holding her hand.

"I am a member of Thorin Oakenshield's company,the thirteen dwarves,the wizard and the hobbit that have become my family" She said proudly smiling at them."And I'm not going anywhere until we take back Erebor!"

"Fascinating,really fascinating…"Beorn stated. "But you forgot a very important detail"

"What detail?" she asked intrigued.

"You didn't tell us your name"


	40. The Lady of Gondor

It wouldn't make any difference now,Merwra trusted in all the dwarves and Gandalf,not to mention Bilbo.

Beorn ,on the other hand she didn't trust ,but if Gandalf trusted him to tell their tale,she could too. Merwra noticed how curious they were,as if a simple name could change anything…

When she opened her mouth to say it Thorin interfered "Your name is Marian, is it not?"

She looked at him perplexed, guessing her real nature was one thing-it was logical-but her name was a completely different story.

"How could you possibly know that Thorin?!It is my name!"She said perplexed,staring at the dwarf just like all the others.

"After the dragon took the Lonely Mountain, the dwarves of Erebor and I wandered the wilderness. A once mighty people brought low…We took work where we could find it, labouring in the villages of Men. Almost all the humans we met helped us,with food,money and shelter,but there was only one that showed us compassion, that offered honest jobs among his own kin: Lord Addraran.

"You met my father?" she asked astonished.

"Yes,when we had gathered enough money to build a new life for us in the Blue Mountains we left Gondor.I came to palace to say goodbye and thank him;There was a woman at his side,it was the first time that I saw her-and the last- He introduced her saying "This is my wife Cadiliniel…" she was a very sympathetic and lovable woman,I noticed that she was pregnant...I remember that I asked her if she was expecting a boy,but she replied saying that it was a girl.I asked for the name,she said that they would call her Marian. I thanked them and head to my new future home."

"They never told me that" Marian said confused,she didn't know what to say. She looked at Thorin again.

"You remind me a lot of your father" he said kindly,she didn't control her impulse and hugged him,not sure why she did it ,but sure that she needed it;Thorin seemed as confused as her,but hugged back.

"Lady Marian" Kili seemed to have liked the sound of it "Which one do you prefer?Merwra or Marian?How are we going to call you now?"

It was strange to hear her real name again,it almost seemed wrong,as if it didn't belong to her.

"You can call me what you want,but I prefer Merwra ,at least for now,I don't want to take the risk of somebody else finding out who I truly am."

Beorn went to another room of his house,probably the kitchen or the dining room,because they all could hear the sound of plates being placed in a table and smell of food. He returned to the room where the others were and triumphant said: "I loved your story,you probably made it all up,but you deserve a supper for the creativity"

Merwra thought that he was kidding,but he seemed to say the truth,it was better if he truly believed that it was just a story and nothing else.

"Let's have something to eat!If you mind to follow me to the-" before he could finish everyone stood up and ran to the direction where he came from. They sat at his table,the chairs and the cutlery were obviously too big for them.

"You could change into a human if you want to my dear" Beorn said to Merwra.

"There is no need"she simply stated trying to find a place to sit,luckily Kili reserved a seat for her as he always does.

"I am sure that you would feel more confortable…"Beorn insisted

"I'm comfortable,thank you" she said trying to reach the cutlery in front of her.

"There is no reason to be afraid,I'm sure that as a human you'll be able to reach the cutlery"

"I won't!" she exclaimed louder than she intended.

Gandalf noticed the concern look in her face but didn't say anything .Beorn gave up and focused on telling tales in his deep rolling voice while his guests enjoyed the supper.


	41. The Swordfight

Merwra and the dwarves ate as much as they could, but Bilbo was the one,surprisingly,who ate more. Merwra was probably the first one to go to bed-if a pile of blankets and a pillow could be called a bed-,she was tired and concerned,Beorn told many tales about the forest,but the other human didn't want to hear them,for she didn't trust him.

She only woke up when the dwarves were trying to find their beds,making noises that soon blended with the sound of a light rain.

"Merwra" someone whispered, "Merwra!",she recognized the voice,it was Kili.

Merwra opened her eyes to see the sunlight passing through the crevices of the logs that shaped the ceiling of Beorn's house.

"What time is it?" she asked sleepy.

"I have no idea,but I know that is the perfect time for training…" he said passing his fingers thorough her messy braids.

"Training?Training for what? I think that is the perfect time to sleep"

"Your sword training of course!"he said giggling,"Come,we can go to Beorn's garden"

Without protesting anymore,she took his hand and headed to the garden with her sword,it was very early,she could see the dew that delicately adorned the vivid green grass like pearls adorn a necklace.

"First of all, you need to master drawing out your sword quickly ,which gives you a crucial edge over your opponent" Kili instructed doing what he said.

Merwra drew her sword as fast as him. "Next?" she said with a challenging tone in her voice.

"Well,pretend that you're going to attack me,I want to see if you're holding it right"Kili instructed,for what Merwra responded stretching her elbows while running at his direction,with a smirk on her face."Like that?"

"Almost" Kili said "The elbows should bent towards your body. It is the sword which has to be extended in the direction of the opponent and not the arms."

"Understood" she answered trying one more time.

"Now attack"

"You?" she said giggling "I don't want end up hurting you"

"No you won't!" he answered playfully "Attack me"

"What is that?" she asked perplexed pointing at something behind Kili.

"What?" he looked back for a moment while she invested in an attack,when he faced her again the tip of her sword was pointed at his neck.

"Like that?" she said laughing. They continued the training, now focusing on duels,that Merwra always won.

"What are you two doing here?"a familiar deep voice asked,it was Thorin.

"Uncle! I'm training Merwra"Kili said surprised to see him.

"You are doing it wrong then." Thorin said drawing his sword " Let me show how it is really done,I'll give you the advantage to start,shall we begin?" Merwra nodded with her head,she was afraid of Thorin's roughness but she trusted him enough to help her.

After a quick duel Thorin started to correct her:" Take deep breaths and maintain a relaxed posture to get the best out of your efforts and make quick decisions in a fight." He said dominating it. "Always keep sufficient distance between your feet and keep track of all the moves made by your opponent. " he said when she tripped over her own feet,she managed to stand up and parry his next move,but his strength blocked it "When you parry, the blade should be closer to the body for self defense." Thorin said , he was fighting unmercifully .

Merwra attacked him,but he blocked it with his sword again"Always charge and attack with a great deal of confidence but a level-headed approach, never get excited or carried away, during the course of a fight."

She had to do something,Thorin was defeating her in every way possible,he was invincible!

He decided to have a short break,when they returned he was the one who would start.

Merwra took short breaths,held the sword close to her body-but not to close- kept a certain distance between her feet and got ready.

"Ready to lose again?" Thorin said with a smirk on his lips and a playful look in his eyes.

"I don't know,are you?" Merwra threatened him.

He ran towards her,she stared at his sword scared,waiting until the last moment before placing her hand in the right position and parrying,what made Thorin fall from the crash.

"Now you're learning"


	42. Chocolate Cake

Merwra was tired,in fact ,she was exhausted. Thorin looked rather majestic though– as always- he loved the thrill of a battle, the challenge it represented.

Merwra was scared,the way Thorin confronted and attacked her,if she didn't know him better she would believe that he was trying to kill her.

"I think that you can stop now,uncle" Kili said while Thorin prepared to strike back.

Merwra wanted to stop,but something inside of her,maybe her pride, kept her there,facing Thorin and shaking her hands that were trying to keep holding firmly the sword.

"Did you forget that her arm it's still wounded?" Kili protested seeing that his uncle didn't respond to his last comment.

Merwra unwittingly looked at her arm,the wound and the pain were gone, leaving only a small pale scar behind.

Ori opened the window of the house. "What are you doing outside? Is Beorn with you? " They looked confused at each other. "Well, there is breakfast in the kitchen if you want to join us…" Ori invited them as he headed to the kitchen,when a loud scream cut the silence of the morning:"Breakfast!" someone shouted, Merwra recognized Bilbo's voice immediately, she dropped her sword and headed to the kitchen followed by Thorin and Kili.

The table was set ,the dwarves were slowly waking up and heading to the kitchen expecting to eat some food,although that they had eaten an awful lot of food in the previous night,specially Bombur."Where is Gandalf?" Ori cried,"Where is Beorn?"

Nobody had heard about them,they disappeared ,at least the breakfast was set for them.

A light rain started,but soon changed into a stronger rain,which became a storm during the day,but still there was no sign of the wizard or of the skin-changer.

Rainy days...Merwra probably loved them more than actual sunny days,she loved the smell of the rain and how it sounded like a lullaby...She remembered of the rainy days when her father used to tell her adventure stories of great battles ,while her mother used to tell more romantic tales of elves and courageous princesses... She spotted a bookshelf in the hall,a very dusty one,she passed her fingers through the covers of the few books,but they didn't had anything written in the covers to inform the story they contained,so she randomly picked one that had a dark blue cover.

Ori,Bifur,Dori, Bofur and Bilbo stayed with her in Beorn's house,the others wanted to go search for Gandalf and Beorn,but Merwra preferred to stay,although she loved rainy days,getting soaked wasn't what she would call pleasant... She found a comfortable chair in one of the rooms of the house and started to read the book,but Ori would often come to her asking something about how being human was,what she did for fun, or just to beg to hear a story about the humans and their battles. Ori knew how to be annoying,no matter what she did- go to another room,hide from him,deny his request- he would always found her and beg for a story with a sparkle in his eyes, just like the one kids usually have.

Ori was the most adorable and naive dwarf, which was probably why every single time he came to talk with her she couldn't just say "no" to him,she had lost her focus on the book completely and had to start reading it again,surprisingly she managed to read one chapter before giving up and closing the book frustrated.

She walked to the kitchen,trying to hide from Ori;Bilbo was cooking something,probably something sweet because of the smell of chocolate that filled the air.

Chocolate cake.

That was it. In fact,Merwra was the one who taught him how to do it."Did it get at least close to the actual flavor?" he asked her when she ate a slice of his first attempt to bake a chocolate cake, when they still lived in Bag End.

Merwra remembered that day very well: how the cake was absolutely delicious,actually even better than the way she usually cooked it,and how they ate it all in a matter of minutes.

Bifur was near the fireplace, sculpting something in a kind of wood,but when Merwra turned her face to look at what it was he mumbled something in dwarvish and hid his work. Merwra then sat near Bilbo while he cooked and tried to find the ingredients that were missing,he was even wearing an apron!

There was no sign of Dori or Ori,that were probably together somewhere. Bofur suddenly appeared in the kitchen. The ridiculously lovely Bofur. The three talked for hours while eating Bilbo's delicious chocolate cake, even Bifur asked for a slice.

Bofur told stories about Kili's childhood, how in his first shooting lesson the arrow hit his own face,how he used to say that Fili was responsable for wetting the bed when actually it was him all along…

The afternoon soon ended when the sun set in the hills and the dwarves finally returned with Gandalf- Merwra had made Kili promise that he would return before nightfall- but there was still no sign of Beorn...

After the supper,that was actually all prepared by Bilbo himself ,using a few things that they didn't eat in the morning and lunch and others that Bilbo cooked, Merwra sat in a chair by the window of the hall,the bookshelf was in the opposite side,she gave a quickly glimpse at it, picking the book with the dark blue cover again. It wasn't a bad book, it was a story about a very clever man-but also very lonely- and how he could deduce anything just by looking at someone. It was beautifully handwritten,but it was almost impossible to read it,the way that the writer mixed the "o" with the "r" , how "t" and "l" looked exactly the same letter...Merwra begun to believe that maybe Beorn wrote it... Beorn,where was he anyway?

Even though the dwarves were still eating in the dining room talking loudly, as usual, Mewra managed to finish reading the mysterious book,and when she putted it down and looked at the window, she faced a big,soaked bear with a blackish fur and strange familiar human eyes. The gigantic bear, now black as night,faced her with an enigmatic kind of smile,while changing to a not less menacing human form.

"Skin-changer!"she thought scared.

It was Beorn.


	43. A Difficult Man to Love

The bear disappeared and a man opened the front door,a chilly wind filled the corridor where Merwra was.

" What are you doing with that?" Beorn asked when he saw her.

The book. She was still holding it. "I read it all. You wrote it,didn't you?" she asked intrigued.

"Using The Detective's methods I see;Very good,so you read the book." Beorn answered,Merwra responded with a smile that soon faded away.

"The detective story…Not one of my best works."he said staring at the dark blue cover. "Who gave you the permission to read it?"Beorn said it in a harsh tone that made Merwra shiver when he took the book from her hands.

"I actually liked it very much" she said scared as he placed it back in the dusty shelf.

"You did?" Beorn asked surprised,but not in a less threatening way.

"Indeed, I loved the story,although the main character is a difficult man to love."

"Very difficult" the recently discovered writer said to her disappointed,as if he was embarrassed about his own character.

"But you see,I love the different,the difficult,and perhaps even the impossible" she said bashfully staring at Kili,that was with the others eating in the kitchen. "He needs someone to truly love him." Beorn saw the way she looked at that dwarf,without understanding how exactly she could love him.

Did he ever really loved someone? He ,probably not.

"There is The Woman…She loved him" he said.

"I don't mean that kind of love,he needs a friend. A true friend,prepared to do anything for him." Beorn noticed when she stared at Kili and Fili,and something begun to ache inside of him ,he felt a emptiness and loneliness that he had never felt before.

Maybe The Detective wasn't the only one who needed company...

"For one human being to love another;that's perhaps the most difficult of all our tasks, more difficult than actually loving someone in a romantically way" Merwra heard in his voice the same solitude that she saw in the brilliant Detective whom Beorn's book described so vividly.

"That's true." Merwra said,she couldn't control herself ,she gazed quickly at Bilbo,but Beorn didn't notice it this time.

Beorn; She wondered if he at least had the doubt that maybe-just maybe- she was as human as him,but she wouldn't try to convince him, if he didn't believe in her tale it wasn't her fault,for she had told him the truth,as impossible as it sounded. She didn't blame him though ,if someone told this story to her she wouldn't believe in a word of it,although it was a beautiful tale.

"I thought about you today" Beorn sounded like a different person,could she have started to grow fond of him? "I brought something for you" he said picking some flowers,leaves and moss. "I'll make a drink for you later,for your scar." Beorn pointed at her arm ,she thanked with a smile.

"If you liked my story as much as you said it,I think you should try the one with the red cover"Beorn said with a smile. How could he have changed so much in just a few minutes? Merwra thought.

"What is this smell? It's sweet and…and" Beorn said heading to the kitchen sniffling around."Chocolate,yes…" he continued to talk to himself until the moment he saw the dwarves and Gandalf eating the last slices of Bilbo's chocolate cake, yelling desperately "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY CHOCOLATE?!Do you have any idea of how hard it is to get some chocolate around this parts?! What you did with it? WHAT?You're ALL leaving tomorrow, ALL of you!"

Yes,that was the Beorn that Merwra didn't trust, the terrifying bear standing in the rain staring furiously at her,that was the man she hated.

The dwarves just stayed paralyzed looking at Beorn,that saw on the table some crumbs of what once was Bilbo's delicious chocolate cake.

The hobbit was still wearing the apron,and before he could think of any apology Beorn furiously shouted at him; " ARE YOU ,MISTER BAGGINS, THE RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS?!" Beorn threw the crumbs at the frightened hobbit. Before any of them could interfere Bilbo took control of his shiverings-although his skin was as pale as a sheet- and calmly answered:

"I saved a slice for you"


	44. Two Contrasts

"Did you?" Beorn suspiciously stared at Bilbo,that handed him a small plate with the last piece of the chocolate cake.

Beorn didn't had to think twice before putting the whole slice in his mouth.

The cake was good. Better than good,it was delicious. Beorn didn't want Bilbo to notice how he loved it though,but when there was nothing left of the chocolate cake,he looked disappointed at Bilbo,just like a child, transforming the shivers of the hobbit into giggles.

"I will only forgive you if you promise to give me the recipe." He said licking his fingers.

"If you want it you'll have to talk with Merwra" the hobbit said pointing at her.

Beorn immediately began to search for some blank pages for her,he looked in his bedroom,in the kitchen,living room and in every shelf and every cupboard in vain. When he was lifting the books of the shelf where Merwra found his stories, almost giving up,he remembered of a book with a light green cover that had its pages still completely in blank. He handed it to Merwra,that had joined the dwarves in the kitchen.

As she wrote the recipe down,there was an uncomfortable silence,that soon ceased when Beorn decided to talk with Gandalf.

"You were you following me this afternoon,weren't you ?" he confronted the wizard,that seemed a bit surprised at the moment.

"Yes." Gandalf answered after a brief moment. " I just wanted to make sure that they were safe,for I'll not continue the journey-"

"What?!"Bilbo cried interrupting the wizard.

" I'll not leave you now, foolish hobbit! But I won't follow you for much longer…"Gandalf noticed that Thorin didn't look as shocked as the others,he probably knew that they would have to continue their journey without his help,at least for now.

Merwra handed the book to Beorn,that ripped the page and handed it back to her.

"Keep it. In case you have any ideas for my story,or if you decide to write your own stories." Before she could say anything,he added "It's a gift, so you can remember me."

Merwra was confused , firstly she had thought that Beorn was a despicable human ,then he changed into this loving writer and caring friend. Two opposites,never both at the same time,two contrasts. It soon became clear to her that he was insane,mad as his Detective. But not less likeable because of that.

"I still want you to leave tomorrow" the man said " The goblins and wargs are getting closer,I don't know if I can still protect you for much longer"

"We will leave tomorrow,at dawn" Thorin said getting up. " We will need horses,food supplies and water" he said to Beorn,that immediately begun to separate some food. "We should try to get some sleep now."

They headed to the improvised beds they were sleeping in,Ori was protesting but Dori soon convinced him to go to his bed and sleep .Kili wasn't as successful with Merwra, that kissed him goodnight and stayed in the living room, sometimes reading,sometimes writing."Every character needs a name,what kind of writer doesn't name his characters?" she continued to think until falling asleep in the couch made of a brownish leather.


	45. Moriarty,Holmes and Watson

"What sort of name is Moriarty?"

Beorn said waking Merwra up while picking the book he gave to her."You named them?" He asked flattered and surprised at the same time.

"Well,someone had to" She answered with a smile.

It was dawn, they had to leave,but where was Thorin?

"Holmes brothers,loved the sound of it."Beorn said trying to understand Merwra's scribbles.

"I'm glad that you liked,but as you can see that is all I could think of,what is already better than The Villain or the Brothers..." She stretched her arms and stood up,grabbing the book back. "Remember the character I said that was missing?" Beorn nodded with his head

"This is his name: John Watson." she pointed at a name that had been crossed out. "I wasn't sure about the first name,but I thought that a strong last name would enrich it" She saw Beorn's reaction,he seemed to approve" I know that I'm asking too much,but if you go to a journey soon or talk to the eagles,could you please ask them to deliver this to the palace of Gondor?" She handed him a crumpled sheet.

"I'll see what I can do about it...Would you like to help me wake the others?"

"Sure." She said heading to the bed,that was actually four pillows, where Kili was sleeping next to Fili's improvised bed.

After many tries and failures at waking Kili,she got frustrated until thinking about other strategy;she leaned towards him and gently kissed his mouth.

He choked and quickly woke up realizing that Merwra was staring at him.

"Good morning sleeping beauty"she said,causing both to laugh and wake Fili.

"Did uncle Thorin already wake up?" he said putting on his boots.

"Do you hear that?" Merwra asked giggling, listening to a kind of snore "That thunder is your uncle"

"Well,that is going to be hard,he almost never snores,and when he does it's almost impossible to wake him we're going to need water, something on fire and maybe scream" Kili said to Merwra.

"Or food" Bombur suggested when Fili woke him.

Slowly the dwarves woke up one by one,Bilbo assisted Beorn and Gandalf in the kitchen while Merwra ,Fili and Kili were still trying to wake Thorin up.

"Certain hobbit burned my food, I thought that you could use it " Beorn came to the room where Thorin was sleeping,handing a plate with burned omelet.

"That might work…" Kili said putting the plate in Thorin's chest,so the burning smell could fill the air. "I need you to scream" he said to Merwra

"Really?" she asked giggling,it seemed ridiculous to have come to this point,but pouring water on his face didn't work.

"We need to recreate what happened when the dragon attacked,only that causes a shock strong enough to wake him up.I discovered this when I was 40"

"What?!" She said surprised before remembering that dwarves calculate their age differently…right? Anyways,she started to scream,actually it sounded more like a contained yell.

"Do it again" Kili said screaming too.

"I'M COMING!" Thorin cried quickly getting up and beating his head on the log that served as a foundation for Balin's bed.

"Sorry about that uncle"Fili tried to explain "You wouldn't wake up!" he continued.

"I have heard that story before…Is everyone ready to leave?" Thorin asked removing chunks of eggs of his hair.

"Yes,Beorn prepared the breakfast for us" Merwra explaining heading to the kitchen where the others were already eating.


	46. The Farewell

Beorn seemed to be in a splendidly good humour; he warned the dwarves about a warg pack and goblins -that wanted to avenge their king's death- that were following their track.

What he believed was just a story he knew now that was the truth. "I'm sorry I doubted you" he kindly said to his new friends.

"Lonely" Merwra thought,he wasn't mad ,he was lonely.

Merwra saw the head of a goblin stuck by the window and a warg-skin nailed to a tree,but she preferred to stay with her mouth shut. She saw ponies and a horse-probably for Gandalf- equipped with bags and sacks of water and food of a wide variety;somehow it reminded her about the first day of their journey,about the Green Dragon Inn and its beautiful and simple garden... The ponies seemed much healthier though,their hair reflected the sun,especially the dark pony,that was a bit taller than the others and looked rather majestic.

"That one is mine" Thorin said walking in its direction.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Beorn said running to his house again,returning with a small brown bag."For you,if your arm starts to ache again" he said handing it to Merwra,that thanked him with a smile.

"But before you go,could you please transform yourself into your human form?" he asked whispering, trying to sound kind. Merwra hesitated for a moment,but now she knew him,she could trust in him,she even handed a letter to him so he could deliver it to her parents!Afterall she needed to test a theory,which she hoped would fail.

"Watch closely" she said closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. Merwra focused on becoming human,what was harder than she thought,but somehow she managed to start the transformation,she could fell her height changing,but had to stop when her heart started to race.

Everything before her eyes was swallowed by darkness.

"Are you alright?" It was Beorn's voice,she was lying down in the grass,the dwarves surrounding her in a circle.

"Yes,I think I am…" she said getting up a bit dizzy,of course she wasn't ;something had gone terribly wrong,but she didn't know what.

"We need to discuss an urgent matter" Gandalf said to her "privately" he demanded. They went inside Beorn's house once again.

"It's because of the bracelet,isn't it?" She asked scared as they sat in the living room.

"Yes" Gandalf said apprehensive " My theory is that the more you use it to shape shift, the more pain each transformation will cause."

"I feel as if it is getting heavier each time I use it…"She tried to describe the odd feeling.

"No one should carry this amount of power, I must warn you to use it only when absolutely essential...Are you sure that you can continue the journey?"

"Of course!" She said determined,something inside of her was stronger than the pain and the fear.

"Alright then,we must go now,we are late already " he said while they headed to the garden where the others were mounting on the ponies, Beorn was instructing them about the best ways to continue their journey without drawing the attention to them or their tracks.

After certifying everyone that she was fine,Merwra mounted on her pony and thanked Beorn for one last time.

She would miss him.


	47. The Watson to my Sherlock

They were riding in silence just as Beorn had instructed. It was interesting how the landscape of oaks and the thick forest had changed drastically to dark mountains and a small river hidden in the nearby woods.

Merwra was felling better,her wrist acquired a reddish tone where the bracelet was. She wanted to remove it of course but Radagast had being extremely clear about what would happen.

"The bracelet is somehow connected to you,it will not work in anybody else." he explained when he made it in a day when Merwra was still just lady Marian. "But,even if you take it out and try to put it back again it won't work as well." She remembered of how worried and confused she felt. "Let me try to put like this: you change,you're a different person from the one you were yesterday;not in a physical way but in a matter of personality,values,ideas. The bracelet won't know that it is you,it won't recognize you;and the power will not work"

She remembered about the medicine Beorn had made for her,she stretched her hand to grab the satchel that her pony was carrying where a few of her belongings were: the medicine of course, some fruits – apples and oranges – also bread and a canteen with water,plus the book Beorn gave to her.

She gently applied the medicine –that was a greenish kind of paste- to her wrist,what caused an immediately relief. When she returned the medicine to the satchel she picked the book.

She noticed the details of it,the pale green cover had a border sewed with a golden thread,the corners were a bit crumpled,but not very damaged.

She opened it and discovered a sort of pencil made of chalk hidden between the blank pages. Merwra returned to the very first page of the book and found a letter. It was from Beorn:

"To my dear friend Marian,

Thank you for giving me hope and incentive to write again,for showing me the need of a friendship.I'll try to deliver your letter as soon as possible.I hope that your parents don't punish you for joining the dwarves' quest.

Yes;I read your letter.I'm sorry,I had to do it in case something happened to it.

I hope that this book may accompany you in your journey,if you happen to write the complete tale I would be delighted to read it.

I wish you all the luck in the world,and thank you again. For your kindness even when I scared you .Thank you for creating an essential character for my book - without him Sherlock Holmes would never be the man he is - which I intend to finish and send immediately to you.

And above all that;

Thank you for being my John Watson."

Merwra couldn't help but to tear up when she was reading it,she never expected to have caused such an impact on Beorn's life,but she was glad she a did.

"Are you alright?"Kili asked worried when he saw tears falling from her cheeks.

"Yes,I'm fine now" Merwra answered showing her wrist,as if it was the reason for the tears.

The day passed slowly ,Merwra blamed the uncomfortable silence,but now they were miles away from Beorn's house.

It was getting dark;they found a place to rest and quickly fell asleep,they were all very Merwra was still thinking."Sherlock Holmes and John Watson" she thought for a moment,wandering in which journey Beorn would take the characters to,before finally falling asleep when the sky was illuminated with thousands of stars.


	48. Mirkwood

It was still dark,but it didn't stopped Thorin from waking everybody.

"How are you feeling today?" he kindly asked Merwra.

"Better" she answered with a kind smile,looking at her wrist.

The others were already up,even though it was cold and dark the dwarves didn't let it bring them down,they seemed happy to continue their journey;they quickly disassembled their camp and mounted on the ponies;Gandalf,on the other hand,seemed a bit worried.

Dori was teaching a song to Ori,Merwra and Bilbo had the privilege to learn it too and sing with them. That reminded her of the very first day the dwarves had arrived in Bilbo's house,months ago.

It was already dawn and birds were singing hidden in the trees,but soon a silence began to draw upon them,a cold wind blew in their faces as they were getting closer to a dark forest. The poor Merwra began to feel worried again –she wasn't the only one- she continued to talk with the others,trying to get rid of the strange sensation of being watched.

By the afternoon they approached the forest that had trees with twisted branches and ivy growing on them."Welcome to Mirkwood!" Gandalf said trying to mask the fear,but it didn't help; "It has come the time that I must leave you" ,he continued apprehensive.

The dwarves,Bilbo and Mewra couldn't control their despair ,they couldn't believe that Gandalf was going to leave them at the very edge of Mirkwood.

The wizard tried to calm them down:"Don't look at me like that, I warned you that I would leave soon... And you have Merwra and Bilbo with you!" their expressions didn't seem to have changed. "Is not as if I'm never going to see you again! Our paths will cross again,I promise that!"

They couldn't think about a worst situation for him to leave,it really had to be now?

"I'll return the ponies to Beorn,you better unpack them and distribute the packages" they did as he said,Merwra thought that her lot was too heavy for her,she thought about protesting but decided not to,,she wouldn't even get the chance,Kili saw how much effort she was putting in trying to raise it with her back;he gently opened his bag and putted some of her baggage in his lot. Merwra tried to stand up,her bag was a lot lighter,she sweetly kissed Kili thanking him.

When all was ready they said goodbye to Gandalf,they wanted to yell at him;the fear had changed into anger,but they didn't,they watched him going away with the ponies go ,they wanted to keep them,but they knew that Beorn was very found of seemed more sad about watching his majestic pony go than Gandalf actually.

As Gandalf disappeared in the horizon a sadness began to run through them,they felt abandoned,but Gandalf had assured that the forest wasn't that scary-as long as if they stayed in the path-he didn't mention anything about elves though,what made Merwra wonder if her mother's stories were just stories, but she was sure that her mother had mentioned something about the Elvenking offering her a place to stay...wasn't it in Mirkwood?Wasn't Mirkwood the next place she had to go? If only she could remember...

They stared at the forest for a moment,almost thinking about giving up,but Thorin suddenly,without saying anything, started to walk towards it.

"Come along!" he shouted,and they didn't think twice before following him while being swallowed by the darkness of the forest.


	49. Lost

"Did I mention that I'm not liking this forest?" Bilbo said after some hours walking,getting lost,resting,getting lost again and finally finding the path back.

Nobody responded him of course, they were busy trying to maintain the hope that all would soon be over.

Inside the forest they couldn't know if it was day or night,for it was so dark that they could barely see the path they should follow.

"Not one bit" added the hobbit.

As their eyes became used to the dimness they noticed the nasty cobwebs,that were black instead of white,and much longer,stretched from tree to tree;luckily there were no webs across the patch,but they surrounded the company of Thorin Oakenshield as if they were just flies.

A fear started to grow in Merwra as she noticed that even the dwarves,who were used to tunnelling, were starting to hate the absence of the sun and the everlasting darkness.

As the day was becoming night,the darkness of the forest became pitch-dark,they weren't able to see their own hands;they needed to rest,Gloín tried to assemble a fire,but failed,Thorin started to grumble and decided to start a fire himself, but that didn't work as well,they had to sleep huddled in the cold and darkness.

Kili noticed how Merwra was shaking,he thought that is was because of the cold,he laid next to Merwra, cuddling her;she stopped to shake immediately, but she wasn't cold,she was scared, for there were pairs of yellow and red eyes staring at her,disappearing and appearing in the dark.

Kili was the only one who could make her feel safe.

He feel asleep and started to snore,not like his uncle though,Merwra thought that is rather cute,and quickly fell asleep with a sweet smile in her face.

The days that followed became weeks,that seemed to have become ages, but the forest still seemed the same."Someone should climb a tree to try to have a look around..." Bilbo said pointing at a very tall oak.

They all stared at him. "Yes,you should!" Bofur said to hobbit. "He had to do that? Of course he had"the hobbit thought,he was the one who gave the idea now he needed to execute it, after all he was light ,so the branches should withstand his weight.

"Should" That was what worried Bilbo as the dwarves helped him to reach the lower branches of tree.

Merwra saw him disappearing between the twisted twigs and leaves."Bilbo,are you alright?" she shouted,but the hobbit didn't answer.

" Can you see the end of the forest?" This time Kili yelled,but Bilbo still didn't answer.

They were beginning to get worried,he was gone for some time now,and never answered despite their constant attempts to communicate.

Finally Merwra spotted him climbing down ,scratched and tired.

When he safely stepped in the ground,the news were not what they hoped. "This bloody forest goes on for ever in all possible directions!" he said worried "I saw lovely butterflies though,and a warm breeze..." That made the dwarves feel irritated,Bifur mumbled something in dwarvish that some of them repeated.

Merwra remembered that she still had some of the medicine Beorn had given to her.

"Give me your hand"she said to the hobbit,applying the paste in the scratches of his hands,moving then to his arms ,legs, neck and face."There you go,I discovered that it also keeps the mosquitos away" she explained,Bilbo answered with a kind smile.

"What happened to you?You look-Ouch!" Merwra elbowed Kili interrupting him as he saw the hobbit covered with the green paste.

'You look perfectly normal"she tried to comfort Bilbo,that was beginning to feel scared as he stared at his hands covered with the paste that made his skin look a bit greenish.

"Why does he look green? Kili whispered in Merwra's ears.

"It will pass as soon as the paste dries"she answered."I had to apply almost everything on him because of the amount of scratches"

"Let's go,we stayed here for too long" Thorin said staring at them seriously,but he couldn't contain a laugh when he saw Bilbo,that got even more confused.

"Does someone care to explain what is wrong with me?" he said irritated.

"Nothing,you have never looked better ,just that" Bofur said with a giggle.

"Merwra!" the hobbit protested "What is wrong with me? Is this thing that you putted in me ,isn't it?"

"Relax Bilbo,it will disappear in some minutes ,I promise." Merwra answered,what didn't quite made Bilbo feel better,but he decided that persisting would be useless.

The night fell again,they ate the last crumbs of food and drops of water that they still had.

Bilbo's scratches had completely disappeared, and he had an idea of what to do to thank Merwra for what she did: he decided to go pick some branches to try to light a fire.

When he had gathered a few branches he decided to go back to the improvised camp,but he didn't thought about the possibility of getting lost.

"You stupid fool!" he said to himself.

It was darker than the other night ,or so he thought,for he couldn't see his own feet."Thorin!" he screamed,but no one answered."Merwra!Kili!"

Silence.


	50. Tauriel and Legless

"Have you seen Bilbo?" Merwra asked to everyone,receiving the same answer all the times; no one knew where was he.

Kili tried to comfort her,but she knew that something was not right."Maybe he decided to climb another tree!" Fili said joking,but Merwra remembered the flashing eyes she usually saw in the dark,and got even more worried.

The dwarves were hungry,but there was nothing left to drink or to eat,Bombur was the one who suffered the most.

Something wasn't right,Bilbo was gone for some time now and the dwarves began to get worried as well, so they decided to search for him. They heard someone in the forest,someone that needed help,"Bilbo!" Merwra screamed,getting no response.

Bilbo heard someone calling for him,but every time he tried to answer or to follow the voice he was just getting further from it. All the dwarves continued to yell ,but eventually all noise died,they knew that they wouldn't find Bilbo before daylight;Merwra didn't want to stop searching,but she didn't have the strength to continue,unfortunately the thought about Bilbo being alone in the darkness tormented her.

They decided to settle down there and try to get some sleep,Kili was sleeping and snoring beside Merwra,she was exhausted and fell asleep,but she just couldn't stop thinking about the hobbit,what occasionally woke her up in the middle of the night.

Bilbo vanished from her thoughts quickly when she felt a strong sticky sting against her legs.

She tried to scream,but when she saw a giant spider in front of her no sound came out of her mouth,she searched with her eyes for the dwarves,they were gone,just like Kili.

Her legs were tied up,she couldn't move,the spider leaned towards her and said: "Don't move."

Merwra passed out.

"Merwra!"Someone whispered in her ear,"It's me,Bilbo"

Merwra opened her eyes and was surprised to discover that she was hanging upside down on a branch of a very tall tree,alongside what she thought were the dwarves,covered with web.

Merwra tried to move her hands,she was stuck in a very thick spider web,for how long she didn't know.

"Good, you're awake!"Bilbo said happily "You need to change into an elf,right now!" he cut the webs with his sword. Merwra was still very confused about how she got up there.

"What,why?" she whispered back,her throat was very dry.

"Long story short,the spiders captured you and I accidentally met this elves that were killing the spiders and were trying to find a certain elf that I believe it's actually you,I mean the human you..." he tried to explain.

"Where are the others ?Where is Kili?" She asked worried,trying to process what Bilbo just said.

"They're fine,the elves are freeing them from the webs,but you need to change now!" he said alarmingly"They are freeing the dwarves over there,they're getting near us!"

Merwra closed her eyes,took a deep breath and tried to imagine the pointy ears,the dress and the long hair. She was afraid that something might go wrong,but it was easier to change now that she knew how she looked like as an elf;she saw herself in what seemed like a dream.

She almost didn't believe that she had successfully turned into an elf."Bilbo?" she said searching for him.

"Down here!"he said, Merwra had to laugh.

"Stop that!" he said giggling and poking her waist.

"Did you find her?" an elf asked,Merwra looked at her, she was very different from the elves of Rivendell,she had a brown,almost reddish hair,she was wearing a kind of dark green dress with a brown corset on top and a pair of long boots.

Merwra remembered the stories her mom had told her about the wood-elves,how they were dangerous,but less wise than the elves of the West;she never thought they really existed though.

"Tauriel,your highness" she said bowing."Highness?" Merwra thought to herself surprised,but then she realized that she was wearing the same clothes from Rivendell,the silver tiara and the greenish detailed dress,she looked completely different from Tauriel.

"I cut the threads that bounded the dwarves,your prisioners."Tauriel continued.

"Yes!My prisioners…" Merwra said going along with the story.

"Your servant said that you are Marian,our king is expecting you."Tauriel explained "We're expecting your visit since last month,what happened?"

"The dwarves! They have very important information for your king,but they delayed our arrival as you can see, and then the spiders attacked us!" Merwra said.

"I was sent to see if the rumour about the spiders was true,gladly our paths have crossed" Tauriel explained,Merwra was beginning to like her."Thank you for saving us".

"Well,your servant did a fair job,he is a great fighter and also very loyal to you"Tauriel smiled at Bilbo.

"Do we really need to help this dwarves?" Another elf said as he slashed them free "They're completely useless,they are smelling and.." he stopped when he faced a sort of cocoon made of webs that was bigger than the others.

"Is that a couple?" he continued "it can not be just one…"he slashed the webs and Bombur's braids appeared.

"Really?" he said ironically "Is this a nightmare or something?Where is the so called Marian that was supposed to-" he stopped when he faced Merwra,who was trying to contain a laugh.

"Your majesty!"he said bowing " I was sent to bring you safe to our palace,you can call me Legolas" the elf with a very bright -almost white- blonde hair and blueish eyes stood in front of her,he was wearing something similar to Tauriel's clothes,but was also carrying a bow and arrows on his back. His eyes penetrated Merwra's. He was the most beautiful elf she had ever seen,even though she hadn't seen many.

"Legless?" she asked giggling,Tauriel laughed.

"It's Legolas;Legolas Greenleaf ,my lady"


	51. Elvenking

The dwarves woke one by one,they were surprised to see elves standing right next to them,they immediately recognized Merwra,she was nervous and seemed to have a looked down and saw giant spiders,all dead.

"Please,tell me that we weren't rescued by elves.."Thorin muttered.

"We should go if we want to arrive today" Tauriel said to Merwra.

"Arrive where?" Kili said standing up.

"To their palace of course!"Merwra answered,it was strange to see her so different, the other times she had changed only her appearance,now she also changed her identity,what bothered Kili.

"Follow me" Legolas said leading the way,getting down of the tree quickly,the dwarves repeated his exact movements,jumped from branch to branch and stepped on the ground continued to lead the way,Merwra was following him with Bilbo by her side,the dwarves were following them in a line with Tauriel in the end,assuring that they wouldn't try to scape.

Merwra never hated a dress so much,it got stuck in branches on the way,leaves were being dragged,she sometimes stumbled and was tired to act as if it was the most natural thing for her.

As the day passed,the dwarves didn't say a on the contrary didn't keep his mouth had told Merwra how he and his sword Sting had killed a spiders,when he saw a fire in the forest where the elves were resting ,he also told how they together fought the spiders and that they were looking for a elven princess of some sort,who was supposed to have arrived and how their king requested a mission to find her immediately.

They saw a mountain in the horizon,the elves told them that they lived in a cave,Merwra thought that it was ridiculous,cold and dirty ,that was until she finally saw it.

"This is it? That is the biggest mountain I have ever seen!" she said contemplating it.

"That's because you haven't seen ours" Thorin muttered,Merwra thought that he had forgiven the elves,but apparently she was wrong.

"Silence,dwarf"Legolas said despicably.

They saw huge doors of stone with guards,Legolas said something to them that Merwra didn't understand for it didn't sound like the elvish language she had guards bowed before her and Legolas as they stepped inside the cave.

It was completely different from the cave where the goblins lived,there were torches everywhere,emitting a light that made the night turned to day,there were wide halls and passages everywhere Merwra looked,almost like a labyrinth.

"Enjoying the view?" Legolas said with a smirk seeing how amazed she was."We need to speak to my father"

As the dwarves followed Legolas the elves looked at them with disgust,they felt humiliated,these weren't elves from Rivendell,they were the elves that Thorin hated,in fact,they were the reason why Thorin hated elves,and he hated one more than all the others,an elf named Thranduil,and that elf was the one that the dwarf saw as they entered a room decorated with all sorts of artifacts made of silver,with guards and a trone in the center.

"I see that your mission ended sooner than I expected" an elf with a light golden hair that reached past his shoulders blades said sitting in the trone. On his head was a crown of berries and red leaves. As they walked into the room Merwra felt almost hypnotized,Legolas wasn't the most beautiful elf she have ever seen,but this elegant elf standing right in front of her surely was.

He had silver starlit eyes,he didn't seem to be much older than king stared at her standing up and walking towards her,he carrying an oak staff.

"My lady" he gently kissed her hand."I'm the elvenking, but you can call me Thranduil."


	52. Kneel Before Me

"My lady" he gently kissed her hand."I was begging to wonder that something bad had happened to you..."he looked at the dwarves for a moment.

"Nothing of sort" Marian responded " Or perhaps yes,these are my prisioners"she said trying to sound convincing "But how did you know who ?-" Thranduil interrupted her.

"Look at that!You brought me a gift" he did a gesture with his hand making the guards leave and close the door behind them,only Legolas and Tauriel remained.

"Do you know who they are,my son?" The king said to Legolas.

"Let me see..." Legolas said judging each dwarf from head to toe. "I have no idea who these dwarves are,but you're right ada,they're the filthiest creatures I've ever laid my eyes on"

Ori and the others were about to protest when the king directed himself to Thorin.

"Thorin Oakenshield...what happened to the beard that you were so proud of?" Thorin kept his eyes facing the ground

"Is he that elf-?"Kili said,but Thorin quickly interrupted him.

"Yes"Thorin pronounced the word with such disgust that they could see how it offended the king,even though he tried to hide it.

"How did you know my name?"Marian asked trying to change the subject,for Thorin's sake,or for the elf's perhaps.

"Well,I received a letter from your mother, she wrote about how magnificent the elves are and how equally magnificent her daughter was,we reached a decision : you were supposed to meet me and stay here in my palace,to learn and teach."He explained sitting on his throne. Marian smiled."But she didn't seem very excited about the fact of you going on a quest with certain dwarves" she gasped .

"Oh yes,I know about you and the illustrious company of Thorin Oakenshield"he continued"She didn't tell me your destination but it's obvious that you believe that you can claim back Erebor ,I highly doubt it... Your mother doesn't know about the dragon ,I suppose"

"Some facts had to be omitted" Marian explained.

"I see..."he said with a smirk "I omitted some facts myself" he said handing her a letter.

Marian quickly ran her eyes through it,everything that was written Thranduil had already told her,except for one detail: her father was sick.

Her mother didn't ask her to come back to Gondor nor did her father,according to her mom he had strictly wished that she continued her journey,and was very pleased that she met Thorin and the dwarvers-her father preferred the dwarves instead of the elves - but she knew him very well,he always pretended that he was fine when he actually wasn't...That made her feel horrible,her father was ill and she was having an adventure .But deep down she knew that this was what he wanted,for her to have an adventure before being confined in Gondor,to enjoy it as much as possible,for they both knew that her freedom wouldn't last.

She suddenly realized that Tauriel and Legolas have heard everything they said avidly. Thranduil saw how worried she suddenly became.

"Legolas and Tauriel can be trusted,you do not need to fear,you're safe here,they will not reveal your secret"He explained "I'll happily concede my palace as your home for the next three months" he gently said,Marian bowed before him.

"As for this hobbit,is he Bilbo?"He said curiously "Yes,your majesty"Marian answered,the hobbit was busy shaking nervously "Thranduil,my dear" He corrected her standing up once again,now walking towards the dwarves."He can stay with you".

"But should I show my hospitality to these dwarves?"he looked sternly on Thorin. "This one in particular?!"

"Why should I wish hospitality from you?You abandoned my family,my friends and my kin when we needed help! When Erebor was attacked with the fire of Smaug!"Thorin shouted,Legolas stepped forward,his bow aiming Thorin's head, but Thranduil raised his hand demanding him not to interfere."Why didn't you help us ? You were afraid of dragons!You didn't had the courage! The strength! The HONOUR"

"Do NOT speak to me of dragon fire!" Thranduil spat the words,losing control for a minute"I know its wrath and ruin,for I have faced the great serpents of the north"

They looked furiously at each other,the dwarves were too confused to do something.

"Kneel before me,and you can stay" Thranduil said directly to Thorin,who smirked simply answering with a "No"

"Do you prefer the dungeons?I said Kneel Before Me!"Thranduil demanded impatient,but Thorin didn't move.

"Very well,guards!"the king called.

"Take them away,to the dungeons! Until I think about something worst to do with them or they decide to apologize,whatever comes first"


	53. Silver over Everything

"No, I beg you ,please!" Marian cried,but Thranduil ignored her.

She gave Kili one last glance before seeing the guards taking him away alongside the others. They seemed confident that she would figure something out,but Marian wasn't sure what to do next.

"You are not allowed to visit them,if you are thinking about it..." Thranduil said guessing her thoughts ."Tauriel will take you to your chambers"

The elf leaded the way to what seemed to be the room that Marian was supposed to stay.

"I hope that you find your chambers suitable,majesty" Tauriel said bowing

"You don't need to call me majesty!" Marian explained " I am the daughter of a lord,not a king"

"Should I call you lady instead?"

"You should call me Marian" she said with a smile,Tauriel bowed her head.

"And no more bowing"

"As you wish, Marian"Tauriel responded with smile on her face.

"Do you have anything that I could wear? This dress is driving me insane!" she said lifting the hem of her dirty dress.

"I'll see if I have something for you"Tauriel said leaving the room,

Mostly of the elves lived in the woods,apparently only Thranduil and his closest friends and family lived in the palace,Marian deduced when she looked through a kind of window,that was actually a hole in the wall made of stone, decorated on the sides as a frame.

She could see the trees outside and the other elves,a lot more than she expected to see .She sat on the bed that had a beautiful light green blanket,with details in silver threads that formed leaves and trees. Marian ran her fingers through the embroidered and when she looked away for a moment she saw a kind of chest,hid behind the headboard of the bed wrapped in what seemed to be a light silver fabric.

Marian opened it,even though it was heavier than she had predicted,inside there was a simple,yet beautiful , silver dress.

"You already found it!" Thranduil said disappointed stepping into her room.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" she tried to apologize

"It's fine, it is for you" he explained getting closer to her "Unfortunately it doesn't appear to be of your size..."he hanged it in front of her comparing the size;he was right,it was bigger than her,but she thought that it would be perfect,for she didn't need another tight dress.

"It's perfect" she thanked smiling

"Well then,I insist that you put it on,for the dinner..."

"What dinner?" she asked puzzled

"Tauriel didn't tell you? I'm sure she is on her way,she will explain to you"

"Thank you,I will try it" she said as he left the room.

Tauriel soon returned with clothes very similar to hers, a pair of brown boots, a vest and a dark green dress."Marian?" she called.

"Enter!" Marian answered

"I think that this will fit you" she said opening the door,quite surprised to see Marian in a beautiful silver dress.

"Thank you very much Tauriel! Apparently I need to have dinner with Thranduil..."

"Yes, to celebrate your arrival ,Thranduil is waiting for you with Bilbo"

"Good,are you joining us?"

"Yes,I will take you there" Tauriel said leading the way through that labyrinth of rocks and twisted roots of gigantic trees ,so strange but at the same time comforting when illuminated by the torches.

Tauriel and Marian stepped into a large room ,lit by candles and torches on the walls,silver over almost everything,including Thranduil's gown. Marian immediately saw Bilbo sat by the king's side wearing a silver vest with small white small flowers decorating it. If there was one thing that Bilbo was more obsessed about than food it had to be vests.

Both stood up, greeting the ladies, when Legolas appeared behind Marian and Tauriel.

"You look gorgeous!" Bilbo said to her as she approached the table,Legolas felt the need to compliment her as well "The dress fitted you perfectly!You look beautiful"

"Thank you! You look dashing ! -" She stared at Legolas for a moment,but quickly faced Bilbo with a playful smile "Mr Baggins"

Tauriel had to laugh,she liked Marian,but Legolas wasn't amused.

The table was set with all kinds of food,Marian remembered of the dinner she had in Rivendell , how Ori refused to eat the salad and that she had to steal meat so they could eat at least something. Those memories made her feel sad,the long table with various chairs seemed to be too empty,everything was too quiet.

She missed them.

The silence soon disappeared when Legolas insisted to tell stories of how brave he was,how many spiders and goblins he had slayed,how he could shoot an arrow with his eyes closed and so on.

Marian contributed to the talk explaining how Gondor worked,their system of water distribution and plantation,in what Thranduil seemed genuinely interested , Legolas, on the other hand ,seemed deeply bored.

"But why there isn't just one king?" Thranduil asked confused

"There are four lords,my father and his three cousins;Gondor is a vast realm,they decided that it would be easier to split it in four ,making it better to administrate and rule,without dividing into smaller realms that wouldn't be able to survive by themselves...If one of the four lords wants to improve a certain area,they do a sort of council, they vote and decide what is better for the population"

"Very intersting"Thranduil responded.

Bilbo then shared some hilarious stories of Bag End,Tauriel remained silent though,she seemed to be a better listener.

Marian didn't mention the dwarves, not even once.

When it was very late and all the food was consumed,they said goodnight to each other,Legolas offered to take Marian to her room,but she politely refused and thanked Thranduil for the dinner once again.

Tauriel accompanied Marian,when they were arriving and there weren't guards nearby Marian finally revealed how desperate and worried she truly was.

"Where are the dungeons?" she asked to Tauriel whispering.

"I can't take you there" she responded.

"You don't need to take me there,just tell me where to go" Marian heard something suspicious and turned her head back,but didn't see anything.

"I am very sorry,but Thranduil has forbidden me to tell you"

"Fine,can you at least give this to them?They must be very hungry" Marian said handing some bread,grapes and a few other things like nuts that she hid in her sleeves.

"When? -How did you-" Tauriel asked with a smile "You can't go there,but he didn't say anything about me..."

"Good,can you give them a message?"

"Sure,what is it?"

"Tell them to don't give up, I have a plan"

"Very well,good night Marian" Tauriel said heading to the opposite direction, to a path with many guards. Marian followed her with her eyes as she disappeared,and had the strange feeling again that Tauriel was being followed.


	54. A way out

**Sorry for taking so long to upload another chapter! I came back from my vacations a few weeks ago and had a very stressful week at school... But now I have more time to write,so I'll keep the chapters coming...enjoy :D**

When Marian returned to her room and lay down in her bed she felt bad because she lied. She didn't have a plan,Thranduil would never agree to simply free the dwarves.

Bilbo knocked,after saying his name Marian let him in.

"I followed Tauriel, we can't trust her" he said whispering.

"What? Why?" Marian asked confused,Tauriel seemed to disapprove Thranduil's acts... She wanted to help Marian!

"She simply stopped walking at some point and tossed the food away and returned to her room." Bilbo explained

"But how did you follow her?"

"Following,obviously! What sort of question is that!?" Bilbo's voice had a high-pinched tone,something that always happened when he tried to hide something.

"Bilbo,you're the clumsiest hobbit that I know,you could never follow someone without drawing the attention to you, especially an elf!"She questioned the hobbit,who involuntarily put his hands in his pockets.

"Bilbo..." Marian said with a suspicious tone in her voice.

"Very well..." the hobbit answered taking a golden ring from his pocket.

"I found this,when we encountered the goblins" he said putting it in the palm of his hand. "It's a sort of magic ring"

"What does it do?" Marian asked surprised

"It makes me invisible" Bilbo said proudly with a smirk on his face.

"Just that?" Marian asked confused

"What do you mean by 'just that' ? " Bilbo raised his voice "I can become INVISIBLE! Of course,it's not as incredible as your bracelet but-" Marian interupted him asking for silence.

"We need a plan,I need to gain Thranduil's trust,see if he will free the dwarves eventually..."Marian said even knowing that it wouldn't work

"I will try to discover a way out of here,are you sure you want to do this?" Bilbo asked

"Absolutely" Marian replied determinated "Now go, I must try to get some sleep"

"Fine, good night" the hobbit left the room and closed the door.

A week passed and Marian had only stayed at the palace,trying to learn how to blend in,to discover secret passages and trying to find a way assisted her without raising suspicion,but they couldn't find a way to communicate with the dwarves.

Next morning Marian was awakened by Tauriel,apparently Legolas thought that she was ready to meet the village where the elves lived.A great opportunity to escape.

Marian was wearing the clothes that Tauriel had given to her ,what was much more comfortable than the dress she was wearing when she came to the palace.

Thranduil invited her and Bilbo to join him ,Legolas and Tauriel for breakfast-which was composed basically by fruits- before going to the village. Marian started to discuss trivial subjects before asking what she really wanted to know and had avoided to mention in the last days.

"About the dwarves, Thranduil..." she started hesitating for a moment. "Why are they still your prisoners? Why you don't just... get rid of them?"

It was hard to pretend that she didn't care,but it was the only way to discover Thranduil's plans.

"I will keep them here until they learn some manners" he rigidly answered.

"But we both know that it will never happen" Marian said with a smile that fooled everyone. Thranduil laughed loudly

"Yes,you are right my dear; I'm glad that you changed your opinions about them...You see, it's very easy to succumb to the temptation of simply killing your enemies,to end your problems after many years wanting revenge."

The way Thranduil said that scared Marian,it was a side of him that she didn't see before and never wanted to see again.

"But the true joy of vengeance is to see them under your control,suffering and claiming for your forgiveness,when you just appreciate the view."

Marian tried to remain indifferent , but she was afraid. Legolas finally broke the silence inviting Marian to a horse ride to the village,Marian insisted that Tauriel should go with them ,but she politely said that she had more important things to do but would try to meet them there.

Marian invited Thranduil,if she could get him out of the palace it would be easier to capture him, but he claimed that he was going to have a very busy day and wouldn't be able to go. Marian didn't invite Bilbo because he already had another plans,he would try to see the dwarves and maybe,just maybe,free them.


	55. Bard

"Where is the other horse?" Marian asked when they arrived at a stable, with only a white horse ready to be mounted.

"What other horse?" Legolas asked puzzled

"My horse ,obviously"

"Why would you need a horse if I can ride one for you ? " Legolas said with a smirk,which Marian responded rolling her eyes . "You know, not many ladies have the privilege of riding with me" he said getting on the horse and helping Marian ,even though she could have done it by herself.

They arrived at the village after some minutes, it was very different from the palace, Marian thought that it looked a lot like hobbiton, both hobbits and elves lived a simple life. Most of their houses were built in the trees, in the large fields they planted grains and had some animals, like sheep and horses, the elves that were responsible for the animals and plantations lived in shacks in the ground.

Legolas introduced her to some of his friends ,they didn't know who she was or what she was doing there,not that Marian wanted them to know who she really was, but she felt sad that Thranduil haven't told them about her. Legolas had an idea that he thought to be brilliant,he suggested to do a party,to introduce her to the other elves of the village,Marian accepted the offer right away.

"What is that?" Marian tried to sound surprised as she pointed at some rafts of a large river nearby

"Those are the rafts that bring important supplies to us " Legolas answered

"What kind of important supplies?"

"Ale"

"And that is important?" Marian asked letting a giggle come out

"Of course it is!" Legolas said surprised " In fact, I need to order more for your party! We will serve the best ale of Mirkwood"

Legolas seemed to be very excited about the "party",more than Marian actually... He let Marian ride the horse this time ,when they arrived at the river's shore they saw someone sleeping,Legolas cleaned his throat trying to draw the attention to him,but he was about to try again when the horse whinnied loudly.

A man,short comparing to them, stood up scared,his clothes were all of the same boring colour of dirt, his hair was black as coal and shoulder length,but he had a certain charm that was difficult to explain.

Marian recognized him immediately ,she kept staring at his face while Legolas arranged the delivery of more barrels of ale to the next weekend.

"What flower is that?" Marian pointed at a red flower far away.

"It's a rose" Legolas said uninterested

"Could you get it for me?" Marian said flirting with the best smile she could pull off.

"I can do anything for you, my lady" Legolas said getting on the horse again "Are you joining me?"

"I would rather wait here, I'm very tired"

Legolas smiled at her and disappeared between the trees

"So... I'm sorry, I didn't get your name..." the man tried to start a conversation

"Bard,it's me" Marian said smiling

"Me who?" he asked confused

"Marian! "

"Who is Marian?"

"Marian,daughter of Addraran!"

He stared at her for a moment."Prove it"

Marian thought about changing back to human,but she was afraid that the pain would come back ,so she decided to try something else

"Fine. I know that you're Bard, son of Girion. You like to run away from your responsibilities,we grew up together and you used to tell me that we would be best friends forever." Bard's eyes opened widely " You were the one who taught me how to shoot an arrow. You made a bow for my birthday and then ,without saying anything to anyone, simply vanished when your father was about to dye .When I only had you as a true friend . "

" It's all true! " He said surprised "I'm terribly sorry,Marian! I'm trying to be better! I didn't know that he died too !"

"Too? What do you mean,too?" Marian asked scared

"You know, Alandra's father and mother were killed in the last months, Bain's father and mother last month... "

"How!?" Marian said terrified

"Poisoned. Something really bad is going to happen Marian,I can feel it" Bard whispered "And you know that I'm always right... But what are you doing here anyway? "

"What I said that someday I would do, I'm learning different cultures,helping to improve civilizations, meeting races and living like one of them"

"But how did you..." he pointed at her body, she responded showing the bracelet.

"Black beads,they're quite boring ,they don't match your eyes ,in my opinion"

"It's magical ,Bard"

"Oh" he examined it more carefully than before.

"Your boyfriend is coming back" he said as Legolas was getting closer

"He's not my boyfriend...Look, I need your help, I have these friends that are being held prisoners"

"I don't like how this story is starting..."

"I need you to take us away from here"

"Us? Do you mean that you're going too?"

"Yes,me,my boyfriend , his family and a hobbit"

"So Mr. Perfect Hair is going with you?"

"No ,not Legolas! I'll introduce him to you later"

"I can help you, I have an idea."

"Quickly, he's coming back!" Marian said when Legolas was almost there.

"Very well,how do you feel about barrels ?"


End file.
